THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FAMILY FORGIVENESS SCALE

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrume nt to measure forgiveness in the intergenerational family. In the fina l scale the contructs were defined as: (1) realization, (2) recognitio n, (3) reparation, (4), restitution, and (5) resolution. A detailed fo ur-step procedure was used to provide the scale with construct, conten t and predictive validity. This paper describes a four-stage process t o develop the scale, data supporting the validity and reliability of t he scale, and the final version of the instrument.