| Clients who seek counseling are often motivated by the desire to move beyond or overcome past hurts and injustices. Though the desire may be there, the skill to do so is lacking. As counselors, we facilitate the process by our knowledge and expertise. One strategy to recover from past injustices is forgiveness. Forgiveness can be the catalyst for healing and regaining one's peace of mind. Clients are reluctant to choose forgiveness for it carries the stigma of defeat. Knowing that forgiveness is connected to improved outcomes may be the appeal to select forgiveness.; This study involved 203 senior citizens, male and female, whose ages ranged from 65 to 82. Sixty-six percent were between 65 and 75, 47% ranged from 76 to 79 and 22% were 80 and older. The volunteers were primarily from a Central Florida Catholic Church. The following instruments were given to each participant: Enright Forgiveness Inventory, The Anger Expression Scale, The 27-Item Version of the Cook and Medley Hostility Scale, and the Physical Health Status and Health-Risk Variables.; Separate correlation analyses were performed for the EFI and anger and EFI and hostility, EFI Anger and hostility and predictor variables and physical health measures. Multiple regression analyses were performed with predictor variables and physical health. Unlike previous research, these results did not show any significant correlation between forgiveness and physical health. |
