The role of forgiveness and gratitude in the quality of life of alcohol-dependent persons

• Published in: Addiction research & theory 2020-03, Vol.28 (2), p.173-182
• Main Authors: Charzyńska, Edyta, Gruszczyńska, Ewa, Heszen-Celińska, Irena
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alcohol addiction treatment; Alcohol dependence; forgiveness; gratitude; quality of life
• ISSN: 1606-6359; 1476-7392
• DOI: 10.1080/16066359.2019.1642332

Background: Despite a growing number of studies confirming the positive role of forgiveness and gratitude in alcohol addiction treatment, there is a scarcity of research involving groups of alcohol-dependent individuals who do not attend alcohol addiction therapy. The aim of this study was to examine the role of forgiveness and gratitude in the quality of life among persons who have just started alcohol addiction therapy and alcohol-dependent individuals who have never attended this kind of treatment. Method: Using propensity score matching, individuals beginning an outpatient alcohol treatment program (n = 166) were matched with patients of detoxification wards who have never participated in alcohol addiction therapy (n = 166). The Forgiveness Scale, the GQ-6, and the SF-36v2 were used to assess the patients' moral virtues and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Results: Alcohol-dependent individuals who have never participated in alcohol addiction therapy had higher self-forgiveness and feeling forgiven by God, and were less grateful than patients who have just started an outpatient alcohol treatment program. Furthermore, a multiple mediation analysis revealed that: (1) Being uninterested in beginning alcohol addiction therapy correlated with lower gratitude that, in turn, decreased both physical and mental HRQoL; (2) For mental HRQoL, however, this indirect effect was canceled out by higher self-forgiveness and feeling forgiven by God, which increased HRQoL. Conclusions: The results suggest there is a need to diagnose forgiveness and gratitude in order to effectively motivate alcohol-dependent individuals to begin therapy.