ABSTRACT
Researchers have studied the psychological construct of forgiveness in Latin contexts. A review of this literature contributes to our understanding of forgiveness in applied counseling, education, and societal issues. We reviewed theory and research on forgiveness from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Spain, and Portugal. Across countries, interpersonal and societal forgiveness were major categories of research. In Brazil, Chile, and Spain, theories and measures developed by Robert Enright, Everett Worthington Jr., and Michael McCullough support studies on forgiving close related others in specific situations of hurt. From Argentina, Colombia, and Portugal, researchers focus on the willingness to forgive in addition to approaches to interpersonal and societal forgiveness. Research on interpersonal forgiveness in counseling settings and in the context of forgiving close related others is common, however, attention to forgiving more distant others (e.g., co-workers, neighbors) is lacking in the Latin field. We also noted a scarcity of publications on self-forgiveness and receiving forgiveness. Willingness to forgive is a key variable for reconciliation, the focus of societal forgiveness. As authors, we maintain that forgiveness is independent from reconciliation but conceptual and empirical models for societal forgiveness are beginning to define a field in progress, particularly, in regard to the forgiveness of groups with opposing political ideologies.
