Views on Forgiveness in Northern Ireland

Cairns, Ed; McLernon, Frances; Hewstone, Miles

doi:10.1080/1367886022000016839

Cited by 40 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The number of items used to measure each construct, the scoring procedure, and the reliability of scales are reported in Table 6. Our measure of intergroup forgiveness consisted of a 7‐item scale developed for this research and based on the responses of Northern Irish adults in a series of focus group interviews (McLernon et al, 2002; e.g., “The two communities in Northern Ireland must learn not to retaliate against political violence”; “Only when the two communities of Northern Ireland learn to forgive each other can we be free of political violence”).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergroup Contact, Forgiveness, and Experience of “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland

Hewstone

Cairns

Voci

et al. 2006

Journal of Social Issues

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278

258

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Two studies used random sample surveys to test the “contact hypothesis” on intergroup attitudes of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. In Study 1, archival data from two different surveys in 1989 (N = 310 Catholics, 422 Protestants) and 1991 (N = 319 Catholics, 478 Protestants) showed that contact was positively related to attitudes toward denominational mixing. Study 2 (N = 391 Catholics, 647 Protestants) explored predictors of intergroup forgiveness, and also showed that intergroup contact was positively related to outgroup attitudes, perspective‐taking, and trust (even among those who had a worse experience of sectarian conflict). These studies indicate that research in peace psychology can provide a deeper understanding of the conflict in Northern Ireland and, in due course, contribute to its resolution.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergroup Contact, Forgiveness, and Experience of “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland

Hewstone

Cairns

Voci

et al. 2006

Journal of Social Issues

Self Cite

278

258

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show abstract

“…Scholars have discussed collective and intergroup forgiveness as it relates to peacemaking (Helmick & Peterson, 2001;McLernon, Cairns, & Hewstone, 2002;Shriver, 1995;Thomas & Garrod, 2002) and organizational behavior (Bright, 2002). Intergroup forgiveness should differ in important ways from dyadic forgiveness.…”

Section: What Does Forgiveness Mean?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Forgiveness and Justice: A Research Agenda for Social and Personality Psychology

Exline

Worthington

Hill

et al. 2003

Pers Soc Psychol Rev

373

324

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Forgiveness and related constructs (e.g., repentance, mercy, reconciliation) are ripe for study by social and personality psychologists, including those interested in justice. Current trends in social science, law, management, philosophy, and theology suggest a need to expand existing justice frameworks to incorporate alternatives or complements to retribution, including forgiveness and related processes. In this article, we raise five challenging empirical questions about forgiveness. For each question, we briefly review representative research, raise hypotheses, and suggest specific ways in which social and personality psychologists could make distinctive contributions.

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“…Forgiveness is increasingly considered as an essential psychological aspect of reconciliation (Azar, Mullet, & Vinsonneau, 1999; Doosje et al., 1998; Halpern & Weinstein, 2004; Nadler & Saguy, 2004), and it has belatedly been researched in Northern Ireland (Hewstone et al., 2006; Huyse, 2005; McGlynn, Niens, Cairns, & Hewstone, 2004; McLernon, Cairns, & Hewstone, 2002; Moeschberger, Dixon, Niens, & Cairns, 2005). Forgiveness is particularly relevant in relation to mental health issues arising from conflict, since there is growing evidence that interpersonal forgiveness is positively associated with better mental health (Allan, Allan, Kaminer, & Stein, 2006; Kaplan, 1992; McCullough, Worthington, & Rachel, 1997; Scobie & Scobie, 1998; Witvliet, Ludwig, & Vander Laan, 2001; Witvliet, Phipps, Feldman, & Beckman, 2004).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Conflict on Mental Health in Northern Ireland: The Mediating Role of Intergroup Forgiveness and Collective Guilt

Myers

Hewstone

Cairns

2009

Political Psychology

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The aim of the present research was to investigate the mediating role of group-level forgiveness and guilt in the relationship between victimhood (the extent to which the conflict affected an individual's life), exposure to violence (the level of violence in their area of residence), and group identity on the one hand, and mild psychiatric morbidity on the other. Specifically the study focused on the psychological impact of the ethnopolitical conflict in Northern Ireland, utilizing people's identification with either the Catholic or Protestant community. Our results revealed that intergroup forgiveness mediated the relationship between both victimhood and group identification, as predictors, and mild psychiatric morbidity. Collective guilt, on the other hand, mediated the relationship between both exposure to violence and group identification, as predictors, and intergroup forgiveness. Overall this study shows that forgiveness and collective guilt can act as mediators in the relationship between impact of ethnopolitical conflict and mental health, at the group level, and thus demonstrates their centrality to the reconciliation process. Implications for intergroup reconciliation initiatives in Northern Ireland are discussed.

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Views on Forgiveness in Northern Ireland

Cited by 40 publications

References 2 publications

Intergroup Contact, Forgiveness, and Experience of “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland

Intergroup Contact, Forgiveness, and Experience of “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland

Forgiveness and Justice: A Research Agenda for Social and Personality Psychology

Impact of Conflict on Mental Health in Northern Ireland: The Mediating Role of Intergroup Forgiveness and Collective Guilt

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