Forgiveness Interventions for Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review

Year 2019, Volume: 39 Issue: 2, 429 - 457, 24.12.2019

Esra Asıcı

https://doi.org/10.26650/SP2018-0041

Abstract

Along with the increasing popularity of positive mental health understanding, the concept of forgiveness has attracted the attention of many researchers working within the field of psychology and mental health. Studies aiming to identify variables related to forgiveness have also increased. After determining that forgiveness is associated with psychological health, studies for enhancing positive attitudes toward forgiveness has gained importance. In the current study, the aim was to systematically review the studies examining the effectiveness of forgiveness group interventions for children and adolescents. In line with this aim, the keywords of “forgiveness intervention”, “forgiveness group”, “forgiveness therapy”, “forgiveness education” and “forgiveness program” were searched in the databases of the Wiley Online Library, Taylor and Francis, Springer Link, Scopus, Science Direct, Sage Journals, EBSCOhost and TR Index in Turkish and English for 2010-2019. The resulting 529 articles from the literature search were evaluated according to the PRISMA guide and the selection criteria determined for this research. Among all the articles, the six that met the required criteria have been included in the research. The selected articles have been examined in terms of research method, research group, features of applied program, instrument used, and effectiveness of the applied program. According to results, all investigated interventions have been found effective to produce forgiveness. Besides this, the selected studies contributed to decreasing of anger, depression and anxiety; increasing of empathy, hope and life satisfaction. It was determined that the group interventions based on the forgiveness process model produced positive results. Consequently, the selected studies showed that forgiveness intervention for children and adolescents enhanced forgiveness and positively affected psychological health. In the light of the obtained results, it is suggested that, forgiveness group interventions for children and adolescents should be used in schools as a part of preventive and interventional psychological counseling services. 

Keywords

Forgiveness, forgiveness intervention, systematic review, child, adolescent

Çocuk ve Ergenlere Yönelik Affetme Müdahaleleri: Sistematik Gözden Geçirme

Abstract

Pozitif ruh sağlığı anlayışının popülerlik kazanmasıyla birlikte; affetme kavramı, psikoloji ve ruh sağlığı alanında çalışan pek çok araştırmacının dikkatini çekmiş ve affetmeyle ilişkisi olan değişkenleri belirlemek amacıyla gerçekleştirilen çalışmalar oldukça artış göstermiştir. Affetmenin psikolojik sağlığın göstergesi olan değişkenlerle ilişkisinin ortaya konulmasıyla birlikte, bireylerin affetme konusundaki bilgi, beceri ve olumlu tutumlarını arttırmaya yönelik çalışmalar da önem kazanmıştır. Bu araştırmada, affetmeyi temel alan grup müdahalelerinin etkililiğinin sistematik olarak incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda; Wiley Online Library, Taylor and Francis, Springer Link, Scopus, Science Direct, Sage Journals, EBSCOhost ve TR Dizin veri tabanlarında, “affetme müdahalesi”, “affetme grubu”, “affetme terapisi”, “affetme eğitimi” ve “affetme programı” terimleri aracılığıyla, 2010-2019 yılları arasında yayımlanan Türkçe ve İngilizce araştırma makaleleri taranmıştır. Yapılan tarama sonucunda ulaşılan 529 makale PRISMA rehberi ve bu araştırma için belirlenen seçim kriterleri doğrultusunda değerlendirilerek, kriterleri karşılayan 6 makale araştırma kapsamına alınmıştır. Seçilen makaleler araştırma grubu, araştırmanın deseni, uygulanan grup müdahalesinin özellikleri, kullanılan ölçme araçları ve müdahalenin etkililiği açısından incelenmiştir. Bulgulara göre, incelenen tüm affetme müdahaleleri katılımcıların affetme konusunda bilgi ve becerilerinin artmasında ve affetmeye ilişkin olumlu bir tutum geliştirmelerinde etkili olmuştur. Ayrıca, seçilen çalışmalarda uygulanan affetme müdahalelerinin öfke, depresyon ve anksiyetenin azalmasına; empati, umut ve yaşam doyumunun da artmasına katkı sağladığı görülmüştür. Özellikle de affetmenin süreç modelini temel alan grup müdahalelerinin olumlu sonuçlar ürettiği belirlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, çocuk ve ergenlere yönelik olarak gerçekleştirilen affetme müdahalelerinin, affetmeyi arttırdığı ve psikolojik sağlığı olumlu yönde etkilediği söylenebilir. Elde edilen sonuçlar ışığında, önleyici ve müdahale edici psikolojik danışma hizmetlerinin bir bölümü olarak çocuk ve ergenlere yönelik affetme müdahalelerinin okullarda kullanılması önerilmektedir. 

Keywords

Affetme, affetme müdahalesi, sistematik gözden geçirme, çocuk, ergen

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