Self-Forgiveness as a Predictor of Mental Health among Abused Women in Erbil City

Abstract

The study examined the levels of self-forgiveness and mental health among abused women in Erbil City. It also investigated whether there were differences in these variables according to age, in addition to exploring the relationship between self-forgiveness and mental health and the extent to which self-forgiveness could predict mental health among a sample of 300 abused women. The Self-Forgiveness Scale developed by Enright et al. (2021), which includes 35 items, was used, along with the Mental Health Scale developed by Ganga and Kutty (2015), consisting of 20 items. The validity and reliability of both instruments were confirmed. The data were analyzed statistically using SPSS. The findings showed that the participants reported acceptable levels of self-forgiveness and mental health. Differences in self-forgiveness were found across age groups, particularly in favor of women aged under 20 to 29 years, while no significant age differences were observed in mental health. Although a relationship between self-forgiveness and mental health was identified, it was not statistically significant. The regression analysis indicated that self-forgiveness explained 8% of the variance in mental health. Based on these results, several recommendations were suggested.