The Association Between Forgiveness and Distress Tolerance: Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation in Recovery from Alcohol Dependence

Abstract

Alcohol has been widely used in almost all the cultures for centuries, but its dependence- producing properties are associated with significant health risks and harms. The objective of this study was to find out the mediating role of emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression) on the relationship between forgiveness and distress tolerance. For the purpose 150 young adults recovering from alcohol dependence participated in the study and completed the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), Emotional Regulations Questionnaire (ERQ) and The Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS). The correlation analysis established a significant positive association between forgiveness and cognitive reappraisal (r = .569, p < .01) and significant negative correlation between forgiveness and expressive suppression (r = -.600, p < .01). Additionally, forgiveness was significantly and positively correlated with distress tolerance (r = .596, p < .01). Furthermore, a significant negative correlation was found between cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression (r = -.636, p < .01). The findings also depicted a significant positive correlation between cognitive reappraisal and distress tolerance ((r = .703, p < .01), while expressive suppression was negatively correlated with distress tolerance (r = -.648 p < .01). Cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression strategy both partially mediated the relationship between forgiveness and distress tolerance. Findings reveal that forgiveness directly influences distress tolerance and indirectly through emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression). The findings further depict the significant positive correlation between cognitive reappraisal and forgiveness, and a significant negative correlation between distress tolerance and expressive suppression.