Understanding the role of dispositional mindfulness on infidelity, and forgiveness tendencies in close relationships

The aim of this research is to understand the role of dispositional mindfulness on infidelity and forgiveness tendencies in close relationships, in terms of demographical variables such as age, gender, relationship duration, relationship status, and break-up experience in a current romantic relationship. A total of 303 volunteer adults, 224 women and 79 men, participated in the study. The research was conducted with the relational screening model. Demographic Information Form, Turkish versions of Infidelity Tendency Scale, Heartland Forgiveness Scale, and the Revised Cognitive Emotional Mindfulness Scale were used as data collection instruments. Multiple Regression Analysis and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) were used for data analysis. Results revealed that dispositional mindfulness positively predicted forgiveness tendency and negatively predicted infidelity tendency. The findings of the study was also showed that self forgiveness and situational forgiveness did not significantly differ across gender while the level of forgiveness of others was found higher in women compared to men. In addition, it was found that being married was related to lower levels of infidelity tendencies.