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Do Forgiveness Campaign Activities Improve Forgiveness, Mental Health, and Flourishing?

Andrea Ortega Bechara
Zhuo Job Chen
Richard G. Cowden
Everett L. Worthington
Loren L. Toussaint
Nicole Rodriguez
Hernan Guzman Murillo
Man Yee Ho
Maya B. Mathur
Tyler J. VanderWeele
All your life you’re told forgiveness is for you. But we’re never told why it’s for you. It means you’re working on owning your life.
Shani Tran
Therapist and Founder, The Shani Project
Forgiveness is nothing less than the way we heal the world. We heal the world by healing each and every one of our hearts. The process is simple, but it is not easy.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Back to Resources

Do Forgiveness Campaign Activities Improve Forgiveness, Mental Health, and Flourishing?

Andrea Ortega Bechara
Zhuo Job Chen
Richard G. Cowden
Everett L. Worthington
Loren L. Toussaint
Nicole Rodriguez
Hernan Guzman Murillo
Man Yee Ho
Maya B. Mathur
Tyler J. VanderWeele
NO. of participants
2,878
Date
Type of Evidence
Type of Paper
Empiricism
open access
Yes
No
sample size

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a forgiveness public health intervention at promoting forgiveness, mental health, and flourishing.

Methods: Colombian students (N = 2,878) at a private, nonreligious university were exposed to a 4-week forgiveness community campaign and were assessed pre- and post-campaign.

Results: Forgiveness, mental health, and flourishing outcomes showed improvements after the campaign. On average, participants reported engaging in 7.18 (SD = 3.99) of the 16 types of campaign activities. The number of types of campaign activities that participants engaged in evidenced a positive linear association with forgiveness, although some activities were more popular than others and some activities were more strongly associated with increased forgiveness. For depression, anxiety, and flourishing, engaging in more activities was generally associated with greater improvements, but the patterns were less consistent relative to forgiveness.

Conclusion: This forgiveness public health intervention effectively promoted forgiveness, mental health, and flourishing. Effective campaigns in diverse communities involve promoting mental and physical health through forgiveness. However, recent conflict may hinder acceptance, necessitating political capital for leadership advocating forgiveness initiatives.

Research
South America
Mental Health Professionals
Supporting Research
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