# The Role of Forgiveness Between Dysfunctional Thoughts and Anxiety in Older Adults’ Family Caregivers

## TL;DR

This study explores how forgiveness reduces anxiety in older adults' family caregivers by mediating dysfunctional thoughts.

## Contribution

The study introduces forgiveness as a mediator between dysfunctional thoughts and anxiety in caregiving contexts.

## Key findings

- Forgiveness traits like benevolence and lack of revenge are linked to lower anxiety in caregivers.
- Dysfunctional thoughts are directly associated with revenge tendencies and inversely with benevolence.
- Health workers should focus on forgiveness strategies to reduce anxiety in caregivers.

## Abstract

Background/Objectives: Current studies have shown that caregiving anxiety is associated with an individual’s dysfunctional thoughts. The aim of this study was to assess the mediating effect of caregivers’ forgiveness (benevolence, lack of avoidance and lack of revenge) on the relationship between dysfunctional thoughts and anxiety in the informal caregivers of dependent older adults. Methods: Participants were 222 family caregivers. We conducted path analysis to test the hypothesized model. Results: We found a model that showed a good fit (χ2 = 3.410; χ2/gL = 5; p = 0.63; GFI = 0.994; CFI = 0.999; RMSEA = 0.001). It showed a direct and negative association between dysfunctional thoughts and lack of revenge, and this variable was related positively with both benevolence and lack of avoidance. In turn, benevolence was associated with lower levels of anxiety. The associations between dysfunctional thoughts and anxiety were mediated by caregiver forgiveness. Conclusions: Our research suggests the importance of health workers seeking to understand how individuals judge their avoidance, revenge and lack of benevolence, which affect individuals’ anxiety, for change. This study demonstrates the relevance of forgiving strategies in developing and testing informal caregiving assessments. It is necessary to detect and reduce avoidance and revenge related to caregivers. It is also necessary to detect and improve benevolence.