Self-regulation facilitates forgiveness in close relationships

Forgiveness plays an important role in maintaining healthy relationships. However, scant empirical literature is available that investigates the associations between self-regulation, forgiveness and relationship outcomes. In the current study, we examined the possible mediating role of forgiveness in the linkage between self-control and relationship outcomes, employing both cross-sectional (Study 1; n = 205) and longitudinal (Study 2; n = 600) designs. Participants in heterosexual romantic relationships completed online survey(s) assessing their levels of self-control, forgiveness, and the quality of their relationship. Results provide support for the self-regulatory model of forgiveness, in which higher level of self-control is associated with higher level of forgiveness, which in turn, are associated with better relationship outcomes (i.e., satisfaction, commitment, and closeness) in Study 1. Results also indicated that the self-regulatory model of forgiveness was stable over four weeks in Study 2. The present study advances our theoretical understanding of the mechanisms underlying the association between self-control and relationship outcomes.