The Correlation Between Relationship Closeness and Episodic Forgiveness

Abstract

The present study assessed the correlation between romantic relationship closeness and forgiveness. It was hypothesized that there would be a positive correlation between those in closer relationships and forgiveness. It was further questioned whether or not single people would yield lower levels of forgiveness as compared to those in romantic relationships. An online survey study was done that incorporated the Relationship Closeness Inventory (Berscheid et al., 1989), transgression scenarios and IOS Scale. There was a significant correlation between closeness on the IOS and forgiveness toward the transgression scenarios, but there was not a significant correlation between the RCI and forgiveness. There was a link between forgiveness and the IOS such that the more forgiving people were, the closer they identified themselves to be with their partner and vise versa. There was no significant difference in forgiveness between the single participants and those who were in a relationship. Keywords: relationships, relationship closeness, transgression, forgiveness