Effects of Rumination, Psychological Well-Being and Marital Adjustment on Marriage Forgiveness

Maintaining a healthy marriage is an individual and societal goal. However, managing a partnership can be difficult and stressful at times. In order to build and maintain a successful and healthy marriage, individuals need to forgive their spouses. This study aims to examine the effects of rumination, marital adjustment, and psychological well-being on forgiveness in marriage. Three hundred eighty-three married participants over the age of 18 took part in the study. The data collection tools used in the research; include a socio-demographic information form, marital forgiveness scale, marital adjustment scale, psychological well-being scale and rumination scale via an online survey platform. Correlation analysis was conducted via SPSS 22 statistical program. Results show that marital forgiveness is associated with marital adjustment, psychological well-being, and rumination. Statistical analyses also show that marital adjustment, psychological well-being, and rumination scores are interrelated. The study's findings show that married people in the benevolence phase felt better mentally and had a more significant marital adjustment. Concurrently, couples in the resentment–avoidance phase exhibited lower marital adjustment and more ruminative thinking. In addition, couple with high marital adjustment engaged in less ruminative thinking and felt better psychologically. The findings will contribute to further understanding the issues that are likely to affect the marital forgiveness process. Key Words: marital forgiveness, marital adjustment, rumination, psychological well-being