Description

The Scobie Forgiveness Scale (TFS-52) is a psychometric instrument designed to assess the construct of forgiveness in adolescents and adults. The scale examines both the tendency of individuals to forgive others and their attitudes toward receiving forgiveness from other people.

The instrument approaches forgiveness as a multidimensional psychological process, evaluating willingness to forgive, behavioural and emotional responses after interpersonal harm, and perceptions related to forgiveness within interpersonal relationships.

Structure and Content

The TFS-52 consists of four sections that assess different aspects of forgiveness.

The first section includes 12 items evaluating an individual’s ability to forgive another person. The second section consists of 24 everyday statements reflecting a definite or uncertain willingness to forgive someone who has caused harm.

The third section contains 12 items examining whether individuals forgive others after they themselves have caused harm. The fourth section includes four statements, with two referring to forgiving others and two referring to experiences of being forgiven by another person.

Objective

The main objective of the TFS-52 is to measure forgiveness-related attitudes and behaviours in adolescents and adults.

The scale aims to evaluate an individual’s willingness to forgive others following interpersonal harm, while also examining attitudes related to receiving forgiveness from others.

Scoring Method

Each item of the TFS-52 is rated using a five-point Likert scale, ranging from:

1 = Strongly Disagree

to

5 = Strongly Agree.

Total scores are calculated by summing responses within each section, allowing analysis of both the overall forgiveness level and the individual subscales.

Higher scores indicate stronger forgiveness tendencies and more positive attitudes toward forgiveness.

Data Analysis and Use

The analysis of the TFS-52 can be conducted using total scores or separate subscale scores to examine different dimensions of forgiveness.

The instrument can be used in psychological assessment, educational settings, and research investigating emotional intelligence, interpersonal relationships, and moral development.

The distinction between forgiving others and being forgiven by others makes the scale suitable for both individual and group research studies.

Validity

The TFS-52 demonstrates good construct validity, supported by the clear structure and differentiation among its four sections, which represent distinct aspects of the forgiveness construct.

The multidimensional structure of the scale allows researchers to examine forgiveness as a complex psychological process involving both interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects.

Reliability

The internal consistency of the TFS-52 has been evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient.

The overall scale demonstrated high reliability with:

Cronbach’s α = 0.90

The subscale measuring forgiveness toward others showed an alpha coefficient of:

α = 0.81

while the subscale assessing forgiveness received from others demonstrated:

α = 0.85.

These values indicate satisfactory to high internal consistency of the instrument.

Applications

The Scobie Forgiveness Scale can be applied in psychology, education, interpersonal relationship research, and studies of emotional and moral development.

It is particularly useful for examining forgiveness as a factor associated with relationship quality, emotional regulation, conflict resolution, and psychological well-being.

References

Scobie, G. E. W., & Scobie, E. D. (1997). Measures of forgiveness. Paper presented at the 7th Symposium of Religion and Psychology, Barcelona, Spain.