The influence of personal, relational, and contextual factors on forgiveness communication following transgressions

The way that individuals adapt to stress in their romantic relationships plays a major role in determining relational satisfaction. This study used the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation Model as a framework to examine how individuals adapt to a relational transgression in their romantic relationships. This study examined individuals' attachment dimensions and perceived relational equity as factors that influenced how they used forgiveness strategies following a relational transgression. The results revealed that both attachment dimensions and perceptions of relational equity inform our understanding of the strategies that individuals use to communicate forgiveness to a romantic relationship partner. Furthermore, the results suggest that the communication of forgiveness has important implications for relational satisfaction.