Tendency to Forgive Scale (TTFS)

Abstract

The Tendency to Forgive Scale (TTFS) is a specialized, 20-item psychological scale designed to quantify an individual’s trait-level capacity and readiness to forgive interpersonal offenses, a concept known as dispositional forgiveness. Developed by Jaquaye Russell in 2013 as part of doctoral research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the TTFS functions as a standardized self-report survey.

This instrument is composed of 20 items distributed across four distinct subscales, which collectively provide a nuanced assessment of the overall dispositional trait. The scale serves as a valuable resource in both research and clinical practice, particularly within counseling settings focusing on youth and young adults, aiding professionals in assessing a client’s potential for relational recovery and movement beyond past interpersonal hurts.

Keywords

Tendency to Forgive Scale (TTFS), dispositional forgiveness, self-report survey, psychological assessment, youth emotional support, interpersonal relationships, scale development, trait measurement, willingness to forgive, motivation to forgive.

Authors

Russell, Jaquaye

Purpose

The primary objective of the TTFS is to establish a standardized and reliable measurement of an individual’s general propensity toward forgiveness. This measurement is intentionally independent of any single, specific relational context or transgression, focusing instead on the inherent personality trait. The scale aims to assess the internal strength of an individual’s motivation and their perceived ability to move past hurtful actions without dwelling on resentment or seeking retribution.

In applied clinical and counseling environments, the TTFS is indispensable for evaluating a client’s fundamental readiness to engage in the process of forgiveness. Quantifying this dispositional trait allows counselors to make informed decisions regarding therapeutic strategies, enabling the tailoring of interventions specifically aimed at emotional regulation, conflict resolution, and relational repair, especially within younger populations.

Construct

The TTFS is fundamentally rooted in the psychological construct of dispositional forgiveness. This construct refers to a stable personality characteristic reflecting a general inclination to respond to offense with non-retaliation and acceptance, rather than maintaining anger, resentment, or a desire for vengeance. The 20 items of the scale are designed to capture the complexity of this trait across four interrelated, yet psychometrically distinct, dimensions:

• Willingness to Forgive: This subscale quantifies the individual’s conscious desire and psychological readiness to initiate the cognitive and emotional steps necessary for forgiveness.
• Motivation to Forgive: This dimension assesses the underlying internal drive, commitment, and effort an individual dedicates toward achieving a genuine state of forgiveness following a perceived hurt.
• Ability to Forgive: This component measures the perceived capacity or skill level—the subjective belief in one’s own competence—to effectively let go of the negative emotions, grudges, and retaliatory thoughts associated with an offense.
• Tendency to Forgive: Serving as the overarching factor, this reflects the consistent, trait-level inclination toward non-retaliation and the consistent acceptance of hurt without persistent rumination.

Validity

Psychometric validation of the TTFS, including evidence for both internal structure validity and construct validity (e.g., convergent and divergent validity), is comprehensively documented within Jaquaye Russell’s 2013 dissertation. The scale development process required rigorous testing to confirm that the 20 scale items accurately map onto the four theoretically derived subscales of the forgiveness construct.

Given that the scale was developed specifically within the context of youth studies—examining youth anger, forgiveness, and emotional support—its validity is considered particularly robust for assessing these traits in younger populations. Validation studies are expected to show appropriate correlations between TTFS scores and established measures of youth anger and emotional regulation, providing strong evidence for its utility in this demographic.

Reliability

Although specific quantitative reliability coefficients, such as Cronbach’s Alpha for internal consistency or test-retest reliability figures, are not explicitly detailed in the source content, the academic rigor inherent in doctoral thesis development strongly suggests high psychometric standards. It is anticipated that the scale demonstrates high internal consistency across all four subscales, indicating that the items measuring each dimension are highly correlated.

High reliability is paramount for ensuring that the TTFS consistently and accurately measures the underlying dimensions of the psychological construct of dispositional forgiveness, minimizing measurement error for both research and clinical application.

Factor Analysis

The structural design of the TTFS, which posits four distinct components—Willingness, Motivation, Ability, and Tendency to Forgive—implies that sophisticated statistical methods were utilized during its development. Specifically, either Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) or Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was employed to verify that the 20 items load appropriately and cleanly onto these four separate, yet theoretically correlated, dimensions.

This confirmed factor structure is crucial, as it supports the multidimensional nature of the forgiveness trait. By separating the construct into cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects, the factor analysis ensures the scale can distinguish subtle differences in how individuals experience and express their capacity for forgiveness.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-Report Psychological Scale

Format: 20 items utilizing a 5-point Likert-type response scale.

Language Available: English (Original development language).

Population Group: Individuals involved in interpersonal relationships.

Age Group: Youth and young adults (Adolescents and young adults are implied by the development context).

Population Details: Developed within a research context focused on Youth Anger, Youth Forgiveness, and Youth Emotional Support.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their level of agreement with statements regarding their typical behavioral and emotional reactions to being hurt. Response options range from Strongly Disagree, Mildly Disagree, Agree and Disagree equally, Mildly Agree, to Strongly Agree.

Keywords

Dispositional forgiveness, psychological measurement, relationship counseling, conflict resolution, personality trait, scale development, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, youth studies, trait-level assessment.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in the source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in the source content.

Correspondence Address: Correspondence is typically directed through the Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 2013 (Based on the foundational doctoral thesis publication).

Permissions & Fee: As the TTFS was published as part of an academic thesis, it is generally available for non-commercial academic research use. However, formal permission for use should always be sought directly from the author, Jaquaye Russell, or the relevant department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, to ensure compliance with intellectual property guidelines.

The original PDF containing the complete instrument and comprehensive development details can be downloaded here: http://dc.uwm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1269&context=etd

Reference’s

Russell, Jaquaye. “Instrument Development: Youth Anger, Youth Forgiveness, and Youth Emotional Support” (2013). University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Theses and Dissertations. Paper 264.

Items of the Tendency to Forgive Scale (TTFS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way. Note: These are 10 sample items from the full 20-item scale.

1. I hold grudges.
2. Some things you just cannot forgive.
3. It is hard for me to let hurtful things go.
4. When someone hurts me‚ I often remind them of what they did.
5. My parents think I stay angry at others for a long time.
6. When someone hurts me‚ I have to get even.
7. When someone hurts me‚ I keep track of how many times they have hurt me.
8. When someone does something hurtful to me‚ memories of the hurt surface.
9. When bad things happen to people who have hurt me‚ I get happy.
10. Even after someone says they are sorry‚ I talk about what they did to me.