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Social Support and Affect Balance Mediate the Association Between Forgiveness and Life Satisfaction

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Abstract

The present study aimed at analyzing the important role of forgiveness in life satisfaction and to extend the previous literature by investigating the potential mediating effects of social support and affect balance in this relationship. Self-report measures of forgiveness, social support, positive affect, negative affect and life satisfaction were administrated to 430 Chinese university students. Path analysis indicated that forgiveness exerted its indirect effect on life satisfaction through the mediating effects of social support and affect balance and the three-path mediating effect of social support–affect balance. Furthermore, a multi-group analysis showed that the mediational model was not moderated by gender. Therefore, this study makes a contribution to the complex nature of the association between forgiveness and life satisfaction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 100875, China

    Haidong Zhu

  2. Normal College, Shihezi University, Shihezi, 832003, Xinjiang, China

    Haidong Zhu

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  1. Haidong Zhu
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Correspondence to Haidong Zhu.

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Zhu, H. Social Support and Affect Balance Mediate the Association Between Forgiveness and Life Satisfaction. Soc Indic Res 124, 671–681 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0790-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0790-8

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