The purpose of the dissertation is to research how adult children perceive forgiving their parents and what experience they have with forgiveness. We are interested in how adult children understand forgiveness, to what extent they are aware of different perspectives of forgiveness (emotive, cognitive, spiritual and behavioural perspective), how different perspectives of forgiveness are manifested in their actual experience in forgiving their parents, and what value or importance is attributed to forgiveness in their lives.
The theoretical part provides a definition of forgiveness for better understanding. This concept is also differentiated from other concepts that people often mistake for forgiveness. The difference between adult children forgiving their parents and other forms of forgiveness (e.g. partner or marital) is also stressed in the dissertation. Furthermore, typical emotive, cognitive, behavioural and spiritual reactions of children to unjust experience are described. The dissertation also observes how forgiveness changes on these levels. Finally, the dissertation focuses on the consequences of bearing a grudge and not forgiving; and on the advantages and changes of forgiveness.
The empirical part provides an analysis of eight semi-structured interviews that were carried out with the help of the phenomenological method. Based on the results, eight main topics that typically occur in the participants’ descriptions are highlighted. The main topics describe unjust experience the participants experience in the relationship with their parents, their immediate and latter emotive, cognitive and behavioural reaction to this experience, how participants understand and value forgiveness, the importance of spirituality in forgiveness of painful events, the consequences of not forgiving and the advantages and changes of forgiveness on the emotive, cognitive, behavioural and spiritual level.
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