Age differences in forgivingness: The role of transgression frequency and intensity Marianne Steiner a,⇑ , Mathias Allemand a,⇑ , Michael E. McCullough b,1 a Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Gerontopsychology, Binzmühlestrasse 14/24, CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland b Department of Psychology, University of Miami, PO Box 248185, Coral Gables, FL 33124-0751, United States article info Article history: Available online 12 October 2011 Keywords: Age differences Forgivingness Interpersonal problems Transgression frequency Transgression intensity abstract The present study examined age differences in the disposition to forgive others and the role of interper- sonal transgression frequency and intensity. Data from a representative cross-sectional sample of Swiss adults (N = 451, age: 20–83 years) were used. Participants completed a self-report measure of forgiving- ness and indicated whether and how intense they have experienced different types of interpersonal transgressions during the past 12 months. Results indicate that older adults were, on average, more will- ing to forgive others than younger adults. Frequency and intensity of transgressions were negatively related with age. Moreover, the results show that transgression frequency and intensity explained, in part, age differences in forgivingness. Future directions concerning the meaning of age differences in for- givingness are discussed. Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Research suggests age differences in response to interpersonal problems. For example, older adults report fewer negative inter- personal interactions and more positive feelings towards their so- cial partners compared to younger adults (Akiyama, Antonucci, Takahashi, & Langfahl, 2003; Almeida, 2005; Rook, 1984). Older adults also perceive interpersonal conflicts as less stressful and anger-provoking, and they use passive emotion regulation strate- gies such as suppressing feelings more often than younger adults do (Birditt & Fingerman, 2003; Charles & Carstensen, 2008; Coats & Blanchard-Fields, 2008). Furthermore, older adults differ in their cognitive and behavioral reactions to difficult interpersonal situa- tions as compared to younger adults (Birditt & Fingerman, 2005; Blanchard-Fields & Coats, 2008; Blanchard-Fields, Mienaltowski, & Seay, 2007). These age group differences in responses to interpersonal events are also reflected in older people’s goals for responding to interpersonal problems (Birditt, Fingerman, & Almeida, 2005). For example, Sorkin and Rook (2006) discovered that preserving good- will in the relationship was the most common coping goal (en- dorsed by 59.4% of participants), followed by reducing one’s own distress (endorsed by 23.2% of participants), whereas getting the interaction partner to change his or her behavior was the coping goal of a minority of older people (endorsed by 17.4% of partici- pants). This finding is in line with research by Van Lange, Otten, De Bruin, and Joireman (1997). The authors showed that higher percentages of older adults (82%) can be classified as having proso- cial interpersonal orientations as opposed to individualistic or competitive interpersonal orientations, compared to younger adults (56% of the adults under age 30). Interpersonal transgressions are one type of interpersonal prob- lems that has remained understudied in the adult lifespan develop- ment literature. The main purpose of the present study was thus to examine cross-sectional age differences in how individuals tend to deal with interpersonal transgressions. Specifically, this study sought to investigate the disposition to forgive others by clarifying the role of transgression frequency and intensity as an explanatory account for age differences in forgivingness. Given the significance of interpersonal transgressions for emotional and social distress (Leary, Springer, Negel, Ansell, & Evans, 1998), it is important to understand how people of different ages are exposed to interper- sonal transgressions and to examine whether a lower frequency of encountering transgressions can help to explain age group var- iation in people’s characteristic responses to them. 1.1. Forgivingness as a personality dimension Forgiveness can be considered as a contextualized psychological process of change with respect to a specific transgressor and a specific transgression (Fincham, 2000; McCullough, Fincham, & Tsang, 2003). In addition, it can also be conceptualized as a person- ality dimension (McCullough & Witvliet, 2002). As a disposition, forgivingness refers to individual differences in the tendency to for- give others across different contexts (e.g., Berry, Worthington, Par- rott, O’Connor, & Wade, 2001; Brown, 2003; Hill & Allemand, 2010; Mullet, Houdbine, Laumonier, & Girard, 1998; Roberts, 1995). 0092-6566/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2011.09.004 ⇑ Corresponding authors. Fax: +41 44 635 74 19 (M. Allemand). E-mail addresses: mariannesteiner@sunrise.ch (M. Steiner), m.allemand@ psychologie.uzh.ch (M. Allemand), mikem@miami.edu (M.E. McCullough). 1 Fax: +1 305 284 3402. Journal of Research in Personality 45 (2011) 670–678 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Research in Personality journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jrp