Wisdom and wellbeing in polish older adults: the mediating role of forgiveness

ObjectivesPossible correlations between wisdom and wellbeing among older people have been extensively debated in psychology. At the same time, researchers emphasize that the effect of older adults' wisdom on their wellbeing depends on numerous mediators. A review of the literature suggests that...

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Main Authors: Paweł Brudek, Stanisława Steuden, Kinga Kaleta
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-09-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1163113/full
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author Paweł Brudek
Paweł Brudek
Stanisława Steuden
Kinga Kaleta
author_facet Paweł Brudek
Paweł Brudek
Stanisława Steuden
Kinga Kaleta
author_sort Paweł Brudek
collection DOAJ
description ObjectivesPossible correlations between wisdom and wellbeing among older people have been extensively debated in psychology. At the same time, researchers emphasize that the effect of older adults' wisdom on their wellbeing depends on numerous mediators. A review of the literature suggests that forgiveness might be one such variable. Thus, this study aimed to investigate whether forgiveness mediated the relationship between wisdom and wellbeing in late adulthood.MethodIn total, 481 participants aged from 60 to 92 years (M = 68.84; SD = 6.31) were involved in the study. All older people participating in the study lived independently in their households. Four psychological instruments were used: (1) the Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale; (2) the Heartland Forgiveness Scale; (3) the Psychological Wellbeing Scale; and (4) the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Therefore, the measurement of the analyzed variables was self-reported.ResultsThe results showed that forgiveness mediated the relationships between wisdom and wellbeing in the older population. The indirect effects demonstrated that forgiveness mediated the relationships between wisdom and wellbeing. Wisdom related to higher forgiveness (β = 0.21; p < 0.01), which, in turn, was related to a higher level of psychological (β = 0.48; p < 0.01) and subjective (β = 0.36; p < 0.01) wellbeing.ConclusionThese findings suggest that forgiveness is an important element of wisdom and wellbeing. The greater the wisdom the participants showed, the stronger the tendency to forgive and the better wellbeing they reported.
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spelling doaj.art-8324b0f216154b76ab8312c5a794de852023-09-14T20:11:37ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782023-09-011410.3389/fpsyg.2023.11631131163113Wisdom and wellbeing in polish older adults: the mediating role of forgivenessPaweł Brudek0Paweł Brudek1Stanisława Steuden2Kinga Kaleta3Department of Psychology, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, PolandDepartment of Psychology, University of Economics and Human Sciences, Warsaw, PolandDepartment of Psychology, University of Economics and Human Sciences, Warsaw, PolandDepartment of Psychology, Jan Kochanowski University of Kielce, Kielce, PolandObjectivesPossible correlations between wisdom and wellbeing among older people have been extensively debated in psychology. At the same time, researchers emphasize that the effect of older adults' wisdom on their wellbeing depends on numerous mediators. A review of the literature suggests that forgiveness might be one such variable. Thus, this study aimed to investigate whether forgiveness mediated the relationship between wisdom and wellbeing in late adulthood.MethodIn total, 481 participants aged from 60 to 92 years (M = 68.84; SD = 6.31) were involved in the study. All older people participating in the study lived independently in their households. Four psychological instruments were used: (1) the Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale; (2) the Heartland Forgiveness Scale; (3) the Psychological Wellbeing Scale; and (4) the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Therefore, the measurement of the analyzed variables was self-reported.ResultsThe results showed that forgiveness mediated the relationships between wisdom and wellbeing in the older population. The indirect effects demonstrated that forgiveness mediated the relationships between wisdom and wellbeing. Wisdom related to higher forgiveness (β = 0.21; p < 0.01), which, in turn, was related to a higher level of psychological (β = 0.48; p < 0.01) and subjective (β = 0.36; p < 0.01) wellbeing.ConclusionThese findings suggest that forgiveness is an important element of wisdom and wellbeing. The greater the wisdom the participants showed, the stronger the tendency to forgive and the better wellbeing they reported.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1163113/fullwisdomforgivenesswellbeingolder adultpositive aging
spellingShingle Paweł Brudek
Paweł Brudek
Stanisława Steuden
Kinga Kaleta
Wisdom and wellbeing in polish older adults: the mediating role of forgiveness
Frontiers in Psychology
wisdom
forgiveness
wellbeing
older adult
positive aging
title Wisdom and wellbeing in polish older adults: the mediating role of forgiveness
title_full Wisdom and wellbeing in polish older adults: the mediating role of forgiveness
title_fullStr Wisdom and wellbeing in polish older adults: the mediating role of forgiveness
title_full_unstemmed Wisdom and wellbeing in polish older adults: the mediating role of forgiveness
title_short Wisdom and wellbeing in polish older adults: the mediating role of forgiveness
title_sort wisdom and wellbeing in polish older adults the mediating role of forgiveness
topic wisdom
forgiveness
wellbeing
older adult
positive aging
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1163113/full
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