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Forgiveness and Physical Health in Healthy Populations

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Forgiveness and Health

Abstract

Significant research has assessed associations of forgiveness and related constructs to health. Whereas forgiveness is letting go of negative and embracing of positive thoughts and behaviors, unforgivingness has been conceptualized as a response toward a transgressor consisting of multiple negative emotions. Research has shown that various measures of health including self-rated physical health, physical health symptoms and somatic symptoms, and cumulative health outcomes are associated with forgivingness and unforgivingness. Evidence suggests that among healthy adults, forgivingness of others and the self is associated with better physical health and unforgivingness of others is associated with poorer health. Theoretical foundations, limitations, and implications of this research are discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Alyssa C. D. Cheadle M.A., MTS

  2. Department of Psychology, Luther College, Decorah, IA, USA

    Loren L. Toussaint Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Alyssa C. D. Cheadle M.A., MTS
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  2. Loren L. Toussaint Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Alyssa C. D. Cheadle M.A., MTS or Loren L. Toussaint Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, USA

    Loren Toussaint

  2. Dept of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA

    Everett Worthington

  3. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    David R. Williams

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Cheadle, A.C.D., Toussaint, L.L. (2015). Forgiveness and Physical Health in Healthy Populations. In: Toussaint, L., Worthington, E., Williams, D. (eds) Forgiveness and Health. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9993-5_7

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