Psychiatry Investig.  2019 Feb;16(2):121-129. 10.30773/pi.2018.11.12.1.

Self-Forgiveness Moderates the Effects of Depression on Suicidality

• Jung M
• Park Y
• Baik SY
• Kim CL
• Kim HS
• Lee SH

• KMID: 2440623
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2018.11.12.1

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Not all depressive individuals are suicidal. An increasing body of studies has examined forgiveness, especially self-forgiveness, as a protective factor of suicide based on that suicide is often accompanied by negative self-perceptions. However, less has been studied on how different subtypes of forgiveness (i.e., forgiveness-of-self, forgiveness-of-others and forgiveness-of-situations) could alleviate the effects of depression on suicide. Hence, this study examined forgiveness as a moderator of depression and suicidality.
METHODS
305 participants, consisted of 87 males and 218 females, were included in the study. The mean age was 41.05 (SD: 14.48; range: 19-80). Depression, anxiety, and forgiveness were measured through self-report questionnaires, and suicidal risk was measured through a structuralized interview. Moderations were examined through hierarchical regression analyses.
RESULTS
Depression positively correlated with suicidality. Results of the hierarchical regression analysis indicated forgiveness as a moderator of depression on suicidality. Further analysis indicated only forgiveness-of-self as a significant moderator; the effects of forgiveness-of-others and forgiveness-of-situation were not significant.
CONCLUSION
These findings suggest that forgiveness-of-self is essential in reducing of the effects of depression on suicidality. It is suggested that self-acceptance and the promotion of self-forgiveness should be considered as an important factor when developing suicide prevention strategies.

Keyword

Depression; Suicidality; Forgiveness-of-self; Forgiveness-of-others; Forgiveness-of-situation

MeSH Terms

Anxiety
Depression*
Female
Forgiveness
Humans
Male
Protective Factors
Self Concept
Suicide