Forgiveness as Psychological Resource: Its Role in the Mental Well-being of Caregivers of Individuals with Mental Illness

Background: Forgiveness is conceptualized as willingness to abandon one’s right to resentment and negative judgments while fostering compassion and generosity. Emerging researches demonstrate its association with psychological well-being. Objectives: The objective of this study is to examine the role of forgiveness in the mental well-being of primary caregivers of individuals with mental illness, explore the moderating role of age in the relationship between forgiveness and mental well-being, and assess the differences in forgiveness and mental well-being across diagnostic categories of patients. Subjects and Methods: This quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 80 primary caregivers of individuals with mental illness, using a convenience sampling technique. Mental well-being and forgiveness were assessed using the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale and the Heartland Forgiveness Scale, respectively. Spearman’s rho was used to examine the correlation between forgiveness and mental well-being. Regression analysis was conducted to assess the contribution of forgiveness and its dimensions to mental well-being. Moderation analysis was performed to examine the role of age. A Kruskal–Wallis test was performed to examine the differences in forgiveness and mental well-being across diagnostic categories of patients. Results: Forgiveness was significantly positively associated with mental well-being (ρ = 0.47, P < 0.001). Regression analysis indicated that forgiveness significantly contributed to mental well-being ( R 2 = 0.286, P < 0.001), with forgiveness of others (β = 0.39, P = 0.001) and situational forgiveness (β =0.36, P = 0.043) emerging as significant contributors, while self-forgiveness was not significant. Age did not significantly moderate the relationship between forgiveness and mental well-being ( P = 0.217). Further, a statistically significant difference in forgiveness scores was observed across diagnostic groups, χ 2 (5) =15.32, P = 0.009, as well as in mental well-being scores, χ 2 (5) =18.71, P = 0.002. Conclusion: Forgiveness was positively associated with mental well-being among primary caregivers irrespective of their age, with forgiveness of others and situational forgiveness emerging as significant predictors. Exploratory analyses further indicated significant differences in forgiveness and mental well-being of care givers across diagnostic categories of patients.