Frederic
Luskin, Ph.D., Reverend Byron Bland
February
2001
RESULTS:
Degree
of Hurt Measure 6.5 (2.5) 4.1 (2.8)*
Spielberger Trait Anger 19.9 (6.2) 17.8 (5.0)
Cohen's Perceived Stress 24.1 (6.3) 21.1 (7.5)
CES Depression Scale 30.5 (8.4) 24.4 (6.5)*
Symptoms of Stress 22.7 (11.0) 14.8 (9.5)*
Vitality Plus Scale 33.3 (8.0) 37.3 (6.9)*
Rye's Forgiveness Scale 47.4 (10.9) 49.6 (12.5)
* p<.05
Seventeen
Protestant and Catholic men and women from Northern Ireland, who
had an immediate family member murdered, were provided a week of
forgiveness training at Stanford University. There were 9 Catholics
and 8 Protestants who attended the 7 days of group forgiveness training.
Participants included people who had parents, children, spouses
and siblings murdered in the ongoing sectarian violence.
On the
Degree of Hurt Measure, which asks participants to rate their current
experience of hurt on a scale of 1-10 there was a significant decrease
between the Pre and Posttest assessments.
The
Spielberger Trait Anger scale asked the people to rate from 1-4
how often they generally felt different aspects of anger. Their
average score changed from 20 to <18 after the week at Stanford
for a decline of 12%.
On the
Perceived Stress scale, which measures the group's ability to cope
with the stress in their lives the group showed a 14% decline that
was marginally significant (p< .08).
There
was a significant 20% decline in reported symptoms of depression
that reflects both the physical and psychological manifestation
of depression.
On the
SCL-90 Somatic and Other subscales participants reported a significant
35% decline in symptoms of stress (dizziness, headache, stomach
ache. etc.)
On the
Vitality Plus Scale participants reported a significant improvement
in their experience of physical vitality. This measures energy level,
appetite, sleep patterns, and general well being.
The
Rye Forgiveness Measure showed interesting results. Two participants
reported less forgiveness at Post Test than they did at Pre-Test.
The other 15 participants demonstrated a significant increase in
forgiveness towards the person who murdered their loved one.
Back
to Research
|