Forgiveness of others and health: do race and neighborhood matter?

OBJECTIVES

This study examines the relationship between interpersonal forgiveness and health for older Blacks and Whites. We outline a series of arguments concerning the following: (a) how forgiveness can affect health, (b) how forgiveness may be more protective for Blacks, and (c) how the relationship between forgiveness and health may vary by neighborhood deterioration.

METHOD

Two waves (2001 and 2004) of the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey provided data from a nationally representative elderly sample of 436 Blacks and 500 Whites. Measures included sociodemographics, forgiveness, and three dimensions of health: self-reported health, alcohol use, and chronic conditions. We employ both longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses.

RESULTS

Results suggest that forgiveness of others was protective of health for Blacks but not Whites. Moreover, among Blacks, we found the following: (a) forgiveness was positively associated with self-reported health over time, (b) forgiveness was negatively associated with alcohol use and number of chronic conditions, and (c) forgiveness interacted with neighborhood deterioration such that the beneficial effects of forgiveness for self-reported health did not extend to those living in run-down neighborhoods.

DISCUSSION

Race and neighborhood were shown to be important for understanding the forgiveness-health connection. Forgiveness was associated with better health for Blacks but not Whites, consistent with McCullough's evolutionary framework (McCullough, M. E. (2008). Beyond revenge: The evolution of the forgiveness instinct. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass), forgiveness was beneficial in some settings but had a deleterious impact in more noxious environments. This study suggests that researchers should give more consideration to race and social context in attempting to more fully understand the relationship between forgiveness and health.