ABSTRACT
Many people experience some form of interpersonal stress and trauma in their lives. These traumatic events often lead to sustained posttraumatic emotional states that can overwhelm affect regulation capacities (Briere, Hodges, & Godbout, 2010). There are various strategies people use to cope with such posttraumatic emotions, many of which may not lead to successful outcomes. One strategy is to blame oneself for the interpersonal offense (Janoff-Bulman, 1979). Another is to blame an external party for the transgression (Lazarus, 1991). While these reactions may confer initial benefits to victims (e.g., control, setting appropriate boundaries, etc.), when these reactions are perpetuated victims of interpersonal trauma often continue down paths toward outcomes including psychological symptoms, physical health problems, and relational problems (Gordon, Burton, & Porter, 2004; Worthington & Scherer, 2004; Znoj, 2011). An alternative outcome of interpersonal trauma is forgiveness. In cases of interpersonal trauma, forgiveness may be a highly resilient response that leads down a path toward more beneficial secondary (long-term) outcomes (for a review see Worthington, 2005).
