Forgiveness and Psychological Well-Being: A Process-Based Mediation Analysis of Emotional Intelligence Components

Abstract

The current research investigated the mediation role of the elements of emotional intelligence between forgiveness and psychological well-being. A cross-sectional design was used to gather data on 408 adolescents, young adults, and adults. The emotional intelligence employed exploratory factor analysis showed that there are two components such as emotional appraisal and emotional regulation. Hayes PROCESS macro (Model 4) was used to prepare the mediation analyses. The results indicated that forgiveness had a positive relationship with psychological well-being and with the two aspects of emotional intelligence. The relationship between forgiveness and psychological well-being was partially mediated by both emotional appraisal and emotion regulation although a significant indirect effect was explained by emotional appraisal. The immediate impact of forgiveness on psychological health was substantial, which meant that forgiveness had other channels other than emotional intelligence. The findings contribute to a process-driven concept of forgiveness, emphasizing the importance of emotional processes, particularly emotional appraisal, in promoting psychological well-being. This study makes a contribution to the literature in revealing the connection between emotional mechanisms and forgiveness and well-being, as well as providing implications on interventions that include emotional awareness and regulation.