The Examination of the Mediator Role of Optimism, Self-Compassion, Altruism and Gratitude in the Relationship Between Cognitive Distortions and Forgiveness of Emerging Adults

The aim of this study was to investigate whether optimism, self-compassion, altruism, and gratitude act as mediators in the relationship between cognitive distortions and emerging adults' forgiveness of themselves, others, and situations. The sample consisted of 488 university students in their emerging adulthood, comprising 66.20% females and 33.80% males, ranging in age from 18 to 32 years (M = 20.32, SD = 2.43). The data were collected using a demographic information form and six self-report scales. In addition to descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Bootstrap Analysis were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that optimism, self-compassion, altruism, and gratitude significantly mediated the relationship between cognitive distortions and forgiveness of self (b = −.109, %95 BCA CI [−.133 to −.086]), others (b = −.096, %95 BCA CI [−.117 to −.076]), and situations (b = −.099, %95 BCA CI [−.117 to −.082]). Self-compassion (K2 = −.14) was found to be the strongest mediator in the self-forgiveness model, followed by altruism (K2 = −.19) in the forgiveness of others model, and optimism (K2 = −.27) in the forgiveness of situations model. The study highlights the potential use of positive psychology concepts such as optimism, self-compassion, altruism, and gratitude to reduce the negative effect of cognitive distortions on emerging adults' forgiveness and to enhance their forgiveness skills.