Self-Forgiveness and Life Satisfaction in People Living with HIV/AIDS

Abstract

The basic goals of the present study were to explore the nature and patterns of relationship between self-forgiveness and life satisfaction of the participants diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and normal healthy persons with no reported chronic physical and/or mental health problems. A total of eighty participants comprising forty diagnosed HIV/AIDS adult patients aged 30 to 42 years (M = 35.50, SD = 4.77) and forty normal individuals aged 19 to 40 years (M =26.81, SD = 4.79) took part in the study whose self-forgiveness and life satisfaction were measured through standardized psychometric tools. The results of the present study demonstrated that the participants inflicted with HIV/AIDS had lower mean self-forgiveness score as compared to their normal counterparts. The same trend was found to be recurring again for the life satisfaction scores of HIV/AIDS and normal participants. The results of the study have been discussed in the light of current theoretical background of forgiveness, life satisfaction and chronic disease. The findings of the study have important implications for policy makers, health professionals, caregivers, students, researchers and administrators.