Forgivingness Across Social Relationships and Family Generations Over Time

INTRODUCTION: This study addressed individual differences in forgivingness, or the tendency to forgive others, across multiple social relationships and family generations over time. METHODS: We used longitudinal data over 4 years across three family generations, including young adults (n = 501; M = 20.4 years), their parents (n = 350; M = 50.9 years), and grandparents (n = 199; M = 76.1 years). Participants were asked to respond on their willingness to forgive the other two generations, as well as their romantic partner and friends. Multilevel modeling was employed to examine how forgivingness differed within persons, family, and generations, as well as over time. RESULTS: Individual differences in forgivingness were explained by the respondent (62.4%), the social relationship (24.7%), the family (9.6%), and the generation (3.3%). Forgivingness differed depending on the social relationship, with a greater willingness to forgive grandparents and grandchildren. Forgivingness also differed by generation, with the middle and older generations being more forgiving than young adults. Finally, the overall forgivingness increased over time. CONCLUSION: The current findings emphasize the importance of contextualizing forgivingness across social relationships and family generations.