Parental Autonomy Support and Interpersonal Forgiveness: The Mediator Role of Gratitude and the Moderating Role of Resilience

Xie Xiaochun; Tong Dandan

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240113

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Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2024, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (1) : 105-112. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240113

Parental Autonomy Support and Interpersonal Forgiveness: The Mediator Role of Gratitude and the Moderating Role of Resilience

Xie Xiaochun¹, Tong Dandan²

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Abstract

Forgiveness and gratitude are two traditional virtues in Chinese culture. Harmonious family environments, especially positive parenting, are protective factors for cultivating forgiveness. According to the Self-determination Theory, parental autonomy support refers to parenting that provides opportunities for children to self-regulate and encourages them to make self-determined decisions. Individuals growing up in autonomy-supportive parenting tend to have healthy psychological conditions, high academic performance, and less deviant behaviors. Based on the Self-determination Theory, the present study proposed that, regarding the relationship between the two variables, parental autonomy support would positively correlate with forgiveness. The model of empirical work in basic psychological need satisfaction (BPNS) indicates that a need-supportive context predicts adjustment through satisfying BPNS, and gratitude represents BPNS. Individuals with high gratitude have high relationship quality and pro-social behaviors, and gratitude is a predictor of interpersonal forgiveness. Cultivating gratitude is a vital task for parents in their children’s socialization. Parenting is associated with gratitude in emerging adults. Hence, based on the BPNS model, the present study aimed to examine whether gratitude mediates the relationship between parental autonomy support and interpersonal forgiveness and hypothesizes that parental autonomy support positively predicts interpersonal forgiveness through gratitude. The BPNS model also shows that personality characteristics moderate the mechanism of a need-supportive context on adjustment. Resilience is the capacity of individuals to gain positive outcomes, even in adverse and stressful situations. High gratitude and interpersonal forgiveness levels have been found in highly resilient individuals. However, to our knowledge, no study has examined whether resilience moderated the relationship between parental autonomy support and interpersonal forgiveness. Based on the previous literature, this study proposed that the indirect relationship between parental autonomy support and interpersonal forgiveness through gratitude would be more robust for higher-resilience individuals.
This study recruited 720 undergraduates from three Chinese universities with a mean age of 19.51±1.06 years. Excluding those questionnaires with large missing information, data from 690 participants (female = 377) were retained for analysis. They completed questionnaires on parental autonomy support, interpersonal forgiveness, gratitude, and resilience. Harman’s single-factor test showed no significant common method bias in the current data. Zero-order correlations revealed a positive association between parental autonomy support, interpersonal forgiveness, gratitude, and resilience. PROCESS Marco in SPSS (Version 25.0) was used to examine the mediating role of gratitude and the moderating role of resilience. Results revealed that gratitude mediated the relationship between parental autonomy support and interpersonal forgiveness. Resilience moderated the indirect effect by moderating the path between parental autonomy support and gratitude. However, as opposed to our hypothesis, the results indicated that the indirect effect was greater in low-resilience participants (vs. high resilience). The current research uncovers the mechanisms of parental autonomy support on interpersonal forgiveness among undergraduate students. We expand on previous literature by examining the effect of parental autonomy on children and adolescents. We also support and broaden the applied scope of the model of empirical work in BPNS. In practice, we highlight the importance of positive parenting (i.e., parental autonomy support) to cultivate undergraduates’ virtues.

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parental autonomy support / interpersonal forgiveness / gratitude / resilience

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Xie Xiaochun, Tong Dandan. Parental Autonomy Support and Interpersonal Forgiveness: The Mediator Role of Gratitude and the Moderating Role of Resilience[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2024, 47(1): 105-112 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240113

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