Gratitude and satisfaction in romantic relationships: Roles of decisional forgiveness and emotional forgiveness

Abstract

Gratitude is thought to be positively related to relationship satisfaction, but the underlying mechanism of this association remains underexplored. To further investigate this mechanism, the present study examined the roles of decisional forgiveness and emotional forgiveness under the guidance of the stress and coping perspective. Chinese college students were invited to answer online questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data collected from a sample of 103 participants in dating relationships. The findings showed that gratitude was associated with relationship satisfaction through two indirect pathways: one through emotional forgiveness and the other through decisional forgiveness and emotional forgiveness in sequence, with decisional forgiveness affecting emotional forgiveness. These results suggest that gratitude, decisional forgiveness, and emotional forgiveness between partners could be potential points of intervention for the treatment of emotional injuries and points of focus for educational programs aiming to enhance relationship satisfaction.