LIFE SATISFACTION AND INTERPERSONAL PROBLEM SOLVING IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF FORGIVENESS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v0i0.2683Abstract
The present study examined the mediating role of forgiveness on the association between life satisfaction, and interpersonal problem solving approaches. Participants include 393 undergraduates (232 females and 161 males) from a university in Turkey's Eastern Anatolia region. Data were collected using the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Interpersonal Problem Solving Inventory, and the Heartland Forgiveness Scale. Correlational results indicated that life satisfaction and forgiveness were significantly positively associated with positive interpersonal problem solving approaches and life satisfaction and forgiveness were significantly negatively associated with negative interpersonal problem solving approaches The mediation role of forgiveness was tested using the two-step structural equation modeling and bootstrapping. Structural equation modeling results indicated that forgiveness partially mediated the impact of life satisfaction on positive and negative interpersonal problem solving approaches. Bootstrapping showed that life satisfaction exerted a significant indirect effect on positive and negative interpersonal problem solving approaches via forgivenes. The findings emphasized the role of youth forgiveness in explaining the relationship between life satisfaction, and interpersonal problem solving approaches. The possible explanations and limitations are discussed.
Article visualizations:
References
Aydın, M. (2017). An examination of the undergraduate students’ willingness to psychological help seeking. Yıldız Social Sciences Institute Journal, 1, 76-94.
Aluede, O., Imhonde, H. & Eguavoen, A. (2006). Academic, career and personal needs of Nigerian university students. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 33(1), 50-57.
Bell, A. C. & D’Zurilla, T. J. (2009). Problem-solving therapy for depression: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review 29, 348–353.
Belzer, K. D., D’Zurilla, T. J., & Maydeu-Olivares, A. (2002). Social problem-solving and trait anxiety as predictors of worry in a college student population. Personality and Individual Differences, 33, 573-585.
Benton, S., A., Robertson, J.M, Tseng, W.C, Newton, F.B. & Benton, S.,L. (2003). Changes in counseling center client problems across 13 years. Professional Psychology: Research & Practice, 34, 66-72.
Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107(2), 238.
Bollen, K. A. (1989). A new incremental fit index for general structural equation models. Sociological Methods & Research, 17(3), 303–316.
Bugay, A. & Demir, A. (2010). A Turkish version of heartland forgiveness scale. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5, 1927–1931.
Chang, E. C., Downey, C. A., & Salata, J. L. (2004). Social problem solving and positive psychological functioning: Looking at the positive side of problem solving. In E. C. Chang, T. J. D’Zurilla, & L. J. Sanna (Eds.), Social problem solving: Theory, research, and training (pp. 99-116). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Chung, M. (2014). Pathways between attachment and marital satisfaction: The mediating roles of rumination, empathy, and forgiveness. Personality and Individual Differences. 70, 246-251.
Çam, S. & Tümkaya, S. (2007). Developing an interpersonal problem-solving inventory (KPCE): Validity and reliability study. Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Journal, 28(3), 95-111.
Çam, S., & Tümkaya, S. (2008). Development of interpersonal problem solving inventory for high school students: The validity and reliability process. International Journal of Human Sciences, 5(2), 1-17.
Diener, E. (1994). Assessing subjective well-being: progress and opportunities. Social Indicators Research, 31, 103-157.
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J. & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71-75.
Dursun, S. & Aytaç, S. (2012). A study on the relatıonshıp between the expectatıons and work experıences of the unıversıty students for the labor market and the levels of hopelessness and anxiety. Celal Bayar University Journal of Social Sciences, 10(1), 373-388.
D’Zurilla, T. J. (1986). Problem-solving therapy: A social competence approach to clinical intervention. New York: Springer.
D’Zurilla, T. J. & Nezu, M. (1990). Development and preliminary evaluation of the Social Problem- Solving Inventory: Psychological assessment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2(2), 156-163.
D’Zurilla, T. J., & Nezu, A. M. (2007). Problem-solving therapy: A positive approach to clinical intervention (3rd ed.). New York: Springer.
D’ Zurilla, T. J. & Chang, E. C. (1995). The relations between social problem solving and coping. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 19, 547-562.
D’Zurilla, T. J., & Mayden-Olivares, A. (1995). Conceptual and methodological issues in social problem-solving assessment. Behavior Therapy, 26, 409–432.
D’Zurilla, T. J., Nezu, A. M., & Maydeu-Olivares, A. (2002). Social Problem-Solving Inventory—Revised: Technical manual. North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems.
Eldeleklioğlı, J. (2015). Predictive effects of subjective happiness, forviness, and rumination on life satisfaction. Social Behavior and Personality, 43(9), 1563-1574.
Enright, R. D. (1996). Counseling within the forgiveness triad: On forgiving, receiving forgiveness, and self-forgiveness. Counseling and Values, 40(2), 107-126.
Gifford, D. D., Briceño-Perriott, J. & Mianzo, F. (2006). Locus of control: Academic achievement and retention in a sample of university first-year students. Journal of College Admission, 191, 18-25.
Hall, J. D. & Fıncham, F. D. (2005). Self-forgiveness: The stepchild of forgiveness research. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24(5), 621-637.
Hamarta, E. (2009). A prediction of sef-esteem and life satisfaction by social problem solving. Social Hehavior and Personality, 37(1), 73-82.
Heppner, P. P. (Ed.). (1990). Problem solving and cognitive therapy. [Special issue]. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly, 4(3).
Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. (2008). Structural equation modelling: Guidelines for determining model fit. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6(1), 53–60.
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cut-off criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55.
Kaleta, K. & Mroz, J. (2018). Forgiveness and life satisfaction across different age groups in adults. Personality and Individual Differences 120, 17–23.
Kayiş, A.R., & Satıcı, S.A. (2019). The mediating role of forgiveness in the relationship between coping humor and mental well-being. Kastamonu Education Journal, 27(4), 1495-1504.
Kelley, B., & Miller, L. (2007). Life satisfaction and spirituality in adolescents. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 18, 233– 262.
Kim, S., Miles-Mason, E., Kim, C.Y., & Esquivel, G.B. (2013). Religiosity/Spirituality and Life Satisfaction in Korean American Adolescents. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5(1), 33-40.
Liu,J., Gong, P., Gao, X. & Zhou, X. (2017). The association between well-being and the COMT gene: Dispositional gratitude and forgiveness as mediators. Journal of Affective Disorders, 214, 115-121.
Maydeu-Olivares, A., & D’Zurilla, T. J. (1996). A factor analytic study of the social problem-solving inventory: An integration of theory and data. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 20, 115-133.
McCullough, M. E., Worthington Jr, E. L., & Rachal, K. C. (1997). Interpersonal forgiving in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(2), 321-336.
Mercan, S. Ç. & Yıldız, A. S. (2011) İnvestigation of the first grade students' adaptation levels in terms of different variables. HAYEF: Journal of Education, 16(2), 135-154.
Munoz Sastre, T. M., Vinsonneau, G., Neto, F., Girard, M., & Mullet, E. (2003). Forgivingness and satisfaction with life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 4, 323–335.
Myers, D. G. & Diener, E. (1995). Who is happy? Psychological Science, 6(1), 10-19.
Nezu, A. M., & D’Zurilla, T. J. (1989). Social problem solving and negative affective conditions. In P. C. Kendall & D. Watson (Eds.), Anxiety and depression: Distinctive and overlapping features (pp. 285–315). New York: Academic Press.
Ögülmüs, S. (2006). Interpersonal Problem Solving Skills and Training, Ankara: Nobel Publications.
Rickwood, D., Deane, F. P., Wilson, J. C. & Ciarroci, J. (2005). Young people’s helpseeking for mental health problems. Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, 4(3), 1-34.
Schreiber, J. B., Nora, A., Stage, F. K., Barlow, E. A., & King, J. (2006). Reporting structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis results: A review. The Journal of Educational Research, 99(6), 323–338.
Scobie, E. D. & Scobie, G. E. W. (1998). Damaging Events: The Perceived Need for Forgiveness. Journal of the Theory of Social Behaviour, 28, 373-401.
Thompson, L. Y., & Synder, C. R. (2003). Measuring forgiveness. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Positive psychological assessment: A handbook of models and measures (pp. 301-312). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.
Thompson, L. Y., Snyder, C. R., Hoffman, L., Michael, S. T., Rasmussen, H. N. & Billings, L. S. (2005). Dispositional Forgiveness of Self, Others, and Situations. Journal of Personality, 73, 313-359.
Thurber, C. & Walton, E. (2012). Homesickness and Adjustment in University Students. Journal of American College Health, 60 (5), 1-5.
Yavuzer, Y., Karataş, Z. & Gündoğdu, R. (2013). An investigation of conflict resolution behaviours: A quantitative and qualitative study. Hacettepe University Journal of Education, 28(1), 228-240.
Ye, Y., Ma, D., Yuan, H., Chen, L., Wang, G., Shi, J., Yu, Y., Guo, Y. & Jiang, X. (2019). Moderating effects of forgiveness on relationship between empathy and health-related quality of life in hemodialysis patients: a structural equation modeling approach. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 57(2), 224-232.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
