ForgivenessNCT04373954
Proposing Forgiveness Therapy Within Prison
A study testing Forgiveness Therapy and Carey Guides in people with Forgiveness, run by University of Wisconsin, Madison at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Previous studies found that a large number of prisoners experienced unjust treatment from others, which can lead to deep inner pain or anger, prior to criminal perpetration. Such unresolved anger can deepen and linger, be turning to resentment (excessive anger) or rage (very intense, potentially violent anger)… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any age, men onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Forgiveness
- What is being tested?
- Forgiveness Therapy and Carey Guides
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 24 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 13 Jul 2018to 6 Sep 2019
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages Any age
- Men only
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Participants who enrolled in Study 1 and need to satisfy the criteria of:
- 1. most serious stories of abuse against them; 2. the least forgiving; and 3. the most psychologically compromised. 4. Also, given the duration of psychological treatments, participants' release date will also be considered.
Who cannot join
- Inmates who have received Forgiveness Therapy before.
- Inmates would be released or transferred to other institutions during the 12-month treatment.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Columbia Correctional Institution
Portage, Wisconsin, 53901
About this study
Official title: Proposing Forgiveness Therapy for Those in Prison: An Intervention for Reducing Anger and Promoting Psychological Health
Previous studies found that a large number of prisoners experienced unjust treatment from others, which can lead to deep inner pain or anger, prior to criminal perpetration. Such unresolved anger can deepen and linger, be turning to resentment (excessive anger) or rage (very intense, potentially violent anger), compromising one's psychological health and behavior and even contributing to their choice of crime. However, Forgiveness Therapy, as an empirically-verified treatment, can help reduce and even eliminate the excessive anger. Its positive effects have been scientifically supported by numerous studies within diverse populations. Therefore, in the prison context, similarly, the investigator hypothesizes that Forgiveness Therapy will lower rates of anger, depression, and anxiety and raise the levels of forgiveness, empathy, hope, and self-esteem for the experimental (Forgiveness Therapy) group as compared to the alternative treatment control group. This is based upon numerous studies that demonstrate the efficacy of Forgiveness Therapy with comparisons to other treatment methods. Further, the study team expects behavioral change by the men within the correctional institution, as measured by officers' observations as well as the number of misconducts in conduct reports on each participant and the time spent in restrictive housing.
This study is the second part of a two-tiered research project to propose a novel approach--Forgiveness Therapy--to corrections and aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of Forgiveness Therapy in reducing resentment and other negative psychological symptoms such as excessive anger, anxiety, and depression for the prison inmates.
Read more
A random sample of 24 participants, who have not participated in forgiveness workshops or forgiveness therapy, were taken from the Study 1(the investigator's previous research from the maximum-security prison of Columbia Correctional Institution "Examining Prison Inmates' Attitudes and Internal Emotional States"). These participants became 12 matched pairs (matched by the type of abuse, the severity of the abuse, and age at which the injustice occurred) with each member of the matched pair randomly assigned to the experimental group or control group. Each inmate participated voluntarily in this study.
Since this study is a continuation of Study 1, the investigator named this study as Study 2.
- Conditions
- Forgiveness
- Being tested
- Forgiveness Therapy, Carey Guides
- Keywords
- Forgiveness
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Forgiveness TherapyOther
The Forgiveness Therapy model mainly includes four stages: uncovering, decision, work and deepening. The book 8 Keys to Forgiveness (2015, a forgiveness therapy manual authored by Dr. Enright) is the basis for the therapy as a way to ensure that the treatment is uniformly founded on the forgiveness process developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Carey GuidesOther
The Carey Guides is a primary educational program deliberately chosen and approved by the Department of Corrections in Wisconsin, in which all inmates are encouraged (not required) to complete as they work toward custody reduction. Some aspects emphasized in it include anti-social thinking, emotional regulation, moral reasoning, and so on. It is the basis for the control group therapy as a way to ensure that the treatment has a uniform process as it is taught in the Department of Corrections (DOC) prison system.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Forgiveness Therapy | Experimental | 6-month Forgiveness Therapy; Participants meet once per week, in group setting. Receives: Other: Forgiveness Therapy |
| Carey Guides | Active comparator | 6-month Carey Guides; Participants meet once per week, in group setting. Receives: Other: Forgiveness Therapy; Other: Carey Guides |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in Score on Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Measures of Anger
National Institutes of Health PROMIS Measures of Anger (five items) was used. Items are statements about the frequency of feeling angry in the past seven days. An example is "In the past 7 days, I felt like I was ready to explode." Participants need to respond to each item on a 5-point scale from "Never" to "Always." The total scores for the anger scale range from 5 to 25. The higher scores a participant rated in one scale, the angrier participant was, in contrast with those who scored lower.
Measured: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
Change in Score on Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Measures of Anxiety
National Institutes of Health PROMIS Measures of Anxiety (seven items) was used. Items are statements about the frequency of feeling anxious in the past seven days. An example is "In the past seven days, I found it hard to focus on anything other than my anxiety." Participants need to respond to each item on a 5-point scale from "Never" to "Always." The total scores for the anxiety scale range from 5 to 35. The higher scores a participant rated in one scale, the more anxious participant was, in contrast with those who scored lower.
Measured: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
Change in Score on Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Measures of Depression
National Institutes of Health PROMIS Measures of Depression (eight items) was used. Items are statements about the frequency of feeling depressed in the past seven days. An example is "In the past seven days, I felt like a failure." Participants need to respond to each item on a 5-point scale from "Never" to "Always." The total scores for the anxiety scale range from 5 to 40. The higher scores a participant rated in one scale, the more depressed participant was, in contrast with those who scored lower.
Measured: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
Change in Score on Herth Hope Index
The Herth Hope Index was used as an instrument. It has 12 items and assesses optimism toward the future with questions, such as "I have a positive outlook on life"; "I believe that each day has potential". These questions assess connectedness to positive expectations for the future, inter-connectedness with other people, and inner positive expectancy. Participants responded on a 4-point scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." Two items need to be reversely coded, and the total hope score ranges from 12 to 48. A higher score means more hopefulness toward the future.
Measured: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
Change in Score on Enright Forgiveness Inventory
Enright Forgiveness Inventory Short Form (30 items) was used as a measurement of forgiveness. It includes three subscales: affect, behavior, and cognition, with 10 items in each subscale. The introductory material at the beginning asks participants to focus on the worst injustice they experienced before their first imprisonment, and to indicate the person who unfairly treated them, time to event, degree of hurt and a brief description of the experience. Then participants were asked to think about the person who hurt them and rate the 30 items on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." Half of the items are negative statements, and reverse coding is done in the data analysis. An example of the positive items is "I feel warm toward him/her," and a negative one is "Regarding this person, I disapprove of him/her." The total forgiveness scores range from 30 to 180, with each subscale scores in the range of 10 to 60. A higher score means more forgiving.
Measured: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
Change in Score on Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory
The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory Form B (Adult Version), consisting of 25 true-false statements evaluating attitudes toward the self in the following domains: general self, social self, self and peers, self and parents, such as "I can make up my mind without too much trouble"; "I have a low opinion of myself". Whereas the original inventory was developed for use with children, Form B has been successfully modified and applied for adults both in college and industry. A participant gets 1 point for each "True" response and 0 point for each "False" response to 8 positive self-esteem statements, and the reverse points to 17 negative statements. Scores range from 0 to 25. A higher score means a higher self-esteem a participant has.
Measured: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
Change in Toronto Empathy Questionnaire Score
The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) developed in partnership with the University of Toronto contains 16 items that cover both positive and absent responses of emotional empathy, such as "It upsets me to see someone being treated disrespectfully." "I enjoy making other people feel better." Participants responded on a 5-point scale ranging from "never" to "always." Half of the items need to be reversely coded, and the total empathy score ranges from 16 to 90. A higher score means a higher level of empathy.
Measured: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
Change in Score on Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale
The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (20-item short version) was used here to measure if a participant is "faking good" to meet the social desirability in psychological tests. It also assesses the degree to which each participant is taking this set of questionnaires seriously or not. This 20-item short version of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale was developed by Strahan and Gerbasi, with 20 statements using a true/false response format. An example is "I never hesitate to go out of my way to help someone in trouble." A participant gets 1 point for each "True" response and 0 point for each "False" response to 10 socially desired statements, and the reverse points to 10 not socially desired statements. Scores range from 0 to 20. A higher score represents a higher tendency of "faking good" in the test.
Measured: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
Score on Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure (MACE) Scale
The MACE scale includes 52 items and measures retrospectively ten types of maltreatment during each year of childhood from 1 to 18 years old. The ten subscales or types of maltreatment measured include: emotional neglect, non-verbal emotional abuse, parental physical maltreatment, parental verbal abuse, peer emotional abuse, peer physical bullying, physical neglect, sexual abuse, witnessing interparental violence, and witnessing violence to siblings.
Measured: Baseline
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted5 May 2020
- Study start13 Jul 2018
- Primary completion6 Sep 2019
- Study completion6 Sep 2019
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (9)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for ForgivenessStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Model description
- It is a cross-over design. For the first period of treatment, after the pretest, the experimental group received 6-month Forgiveness Therapy and the control group received 6-month alternative treatment-Carey Guides. The Carey Guides is a primary educational program deliberately picked by the Department of Corrections in Wisconsin. Some aspects emphasized in it include anti-social thinking, emotional regulation, moral reasoning, and so on. For the second period of treatment, after the post-test, the control group turned to the second experimental group and received 6-month Forgiveness Therapy, while the first experimental group had a rest for 6-month and then they finished the follow-up test or second post-test. For both experimental group and control group, they met once per week, one hour in a group setting. The remaining participants will be remeasured 12 months after the second period of treatment for one-year follow-up test.
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 24 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Wisconsin, Madison
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Department of Corrections, State of Wisconsin
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Robert Enright, PhD, Principal investigator, University of Wisconsin, Madison
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04373954
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2018-0132
- Other IDs
- A173000, EDUC/EDUC PSYCH
- Status last verified
- May 2022
- First submitted
- 30 Apr 2020
- Last updated
- 25 May 2022
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Erzar T, Yu L, Enright RD, Kompan Erzar K. Childhood Victimization, Recent Injustice, Anger, and Forgiveness in a Sample of Imprisoned Male Offenders. Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2019 Jan;63(1):18-31. doi: 10.1177/0306624X18781782. Epub 2018 Jun 21.
PubMed 29926759Lee YR, Enright RD. A Forgiveness Intervention for Women With Fibromyalgia Who Were Abused in Childhood: A Pilot Study. Spiritual Clin Pract (Wash D C ). 2014 Sep;1(3):203-217. doi: 10.1037/scp0000025. Epub 2014 Aug 25.
PubMed 25914886Waltman MA, Russell DC, Coyle CT, Enright RD, Holter AC, M Swoboda C. The effects of a forgiveness intervention on patients with coronary artery disease. Psychol Health. 2009 Jan;24(1):11-27. doi: 10.1080/08870440903126371.
PubMed 20186637Hansen MJ, Enright RD, Baskin TW, Klatt J. A palliative care intervention in forgiveness therapy for elderly terminally ill cancer patients. J Palliat Care. 2009 Spring;25(1):51-60.
PubMed 19445342Reed GL, Enright RD. The effects of forgiveness therapy on depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress for women after spousal emotional abuse. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2006 Oct;74(5):920-9. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.74.5.920.
PubMed 17032096Lin WF, Mack D, Enright RD, Krahn D, Baskin TW. Effects of forgiveness therapy on anger, mood, and vulnerability to substance use among inpatient substance-dependent clients. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2004 Dec;72(6):1114-21. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.72.6.1114.
PubMed 15612857McKay KM, Hill MS, Freedman SR, Enright RD. Towards a feminist empowerment model of forgiveness psychotherapy. Psychotherapy (Chic). 2007 Mar;44(1):14-29. doi: 10.1037/0033-3204.44.1.14.
PubMed 22122165Enright, R. D., Erzar, T., Gambaro, M., Komoski, M. C., O'Boyle, J., Reed, G., & ... Yu, L. (2016). Proposing Forgiveness Therapy for those in Prison: An Intervention Strategy for Reducing Anger and Promoting Psychological Health. Journal of Forensic Psychology, 1, 116. DOI: 10.4172/2475-319X.1000116.
Yu, L., Gambaro, M., Komoski, M. C., Song, M. J., Song, M., Teslik, M., Wollner, B., & Enright, R. D. (2018). The Silent Injustices against Men in Maximum Security Prison and the Need for Forgiveness Therapy: Two Case Studies. Journal of Forensic Psychology, 3, 137. DOI: 10.4172/2475-319X.1000137.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 25 May 2022. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Proposing Forgiveness Therapy for Those in Prison: An Intervention for Reducing Anger and Promoting Psychological Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04373954
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 2018-0132
- Conditions
- Forgiveness
- Keywords
- Forgiveness
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 24 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Wisconsin, MadisonUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Department of Corrections, State of Wisconsin
- Study start
- 13 Jul 2018 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 6 Sep 2019 (actual)
- Study completion
- 6 Sep 2019 (actual)
- First posted
- 5 May 2020 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Previous studies found that a large number of prisoners experienced unjust treatment from others, which can lead to deep inner pain or anger, prior to criminal perpetration. Such unresolved anger can deepen and linger, be turning to resentment (excessive anger) or rage (very intense, potentially violent anger), compromising one's psychological health and behavior and even contributing to their choice of crime. However, Forgiveness Therapy, as an empirically-verified treatment, can help reduce and even eliminate the excessive anger. Its positive effects have been scientifically supported by numerous studies within diverse populations. Therefore, in the prison context, similarly, the investigator hypothesizes that Forgiveness Therapy will lower rates of anger, depression, and anxiety and raise the levels of forgiveness, empathy, hope, and self-esteem for the experimental (Forgiveness Therapy) group as compared to the alternative treatment control group. This is based upon numerous studies that demonstrate the efficacy of Forgiveness Therapy with comparisons to other treatment methods. Further, the study team expects behavioral change by the men within the correctional institution, as measured by officers' observations as well as the number of misconducts in conduct reports on each participant and the time spent in restrictive housing.
This study is the second part of a two-tiered research project to propose a novel approach--Forgiveness Therapy--to corrections and aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of Forgiveness Therapy in reducing resentment and other negative psychological symptoms such as excessive anger, anxiety, and depression for the prison inmates.
A random sample of 24 participants, who have not participated in forgiveness workshops or forgiveness therapy, were taken from the Study 1(the investigator's previous research from the maximum-security prison of Columbia Correctional Institution "Examining Prison Inmates' Attitudes and Internal Emotional States"). These participants became 12 matched pairs (matched by the type of abuse, the severity of the abuse, and age at which the injustice occurred) with each member of the matched pair randomly assigned to the experimental group or control group. Each inmate participated voluntarily in this study.
Since this study is a continuation of Study 1, the investigator named this study as Study 2.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- It is a cross-over design. For the first period of treatment, after the pretest, the experimental group received 6-month Forgiveness Therapy and the control group received 6-month alternative treatment-Carey Guides. The Carey Guides is a primary educational program deliberately picked by the Department of Corrections in Wisconsin. Some aspects emphasized in it include anti-social thinking, emotional regulation, moral reasoning, and so on. For the second period of treatment, after the post-test, the control group turned to the second experimental group and received 6-month Forgiveness Therapy, while the first experimental group had a rest for 6-month and then they finished the follow-up test or second post-test. For both experimental group and control group, they met once per week, one hour in a group setting. The remaining participants will be remeasured 12 months after the second period of treatment for one-year follow-up test.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Forgiveness Therapy | Experimental | Other: Forgiveness Therapy6-month Forgiveness Therapy; Participants meet once per week, in group setting. |
| Carey Guides | Active comparator | Other: Forgiveness Therapy, Other: Carey Guides6-month Carey Guides; Participants meet once per week, in group setting. |
Who may qualify
- Sex
- Male only
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Participants who enrolled in Study 1 and need to satisfy the criteria of:
- 1. most serious stories of abuse against them; 2. the least forgiving; and 3. the most psychologically compromised. 4. Also, given the duration of psychological treatments, participants' release date will also be considered.
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Inmates who have received Forgiveness Therapy before.
- Inmates would be released or transferred to other institutions during the 12-month treatment.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Forgiveness TherapyThe Forgiveness Therapy model mainly includes four stages: uncovering, decision, work and deepening. The book 8 Keys to Forgiveness (2015, a forgiveness therapy manual authored by Dr. Enright) is the basis for the therapy as a way to ensure that the treatment is uniformly founded on the forgiveness process developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. | Other | Carey Guides, Forgiveness Therapy |
| Carey GuidesThe Carey Guides is a primary educational program deliberately chosen and approved by the Department of Corrections in Wisconsin, in which all inmates are encouraged (not required) to complete as they work toward custody reduction. Some aspects emphasized in it include anti-social thinking, emotional regulation, moral reasoning, and so on. It is the basis for the control group therapy as a way to ensure that the treatment has a uniform process as it is taught in the Department of Corrections (DOC) prison system. | Other | Carey Guides |
Primary outcome
Change in Score on Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Measures of Anger
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
National Institutes of Health PROMIS Measures of Anger (five items) was used. Items are statements about the frequency of feeling angry in the past seven days. An example is "In the past 7 days, I felt like I was ready to explode." Participants need to respond to each item on a 5-point scale from "Never" to "Always." The total scores for the anger scale range from 5 to 25. The higher scores a participant rated in one scale, the angrier participant was, in contrast with those who scored lower.
Change in Score on Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Measures of Anxiety
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
National Institutes of Health PROMIS Measures of Anxiety (seven items) was used. Items are statements about the frequency of feeling anxious in the past seven days. An example is "In the past seven days, I found it hard to focus on anything other than my anxiety." Participants need to respond to each item on a 5-point scale from "Never" to "Always." The total scores for the anxiety scale range from 5 to 35. The higher scores a participant rated in one scale, the more anxious participant was, in contrast with those who scored lower.
Change in Score on Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Measures of Depression
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
National Institutes of Health PROMIS Measures of Depression (eight items) was used. Items are statements about the frequency of feeling depressed in the past seven days. An example is "In the past seven days, I felt like a failure." Participants need to respond to each item on a 5-point scale from "Never" to "Always." The total scores for the anxiety scale range from 5 to 40. The higher scores a participant rated in one scale, the more depressed participant was, in contrast with those who scored lower.
Change in Score on Herth Hope Index
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
The Herth Hope Index was used as an instrument. It has 12 items and assesses optimism toward the future with questions, such as "I have a positive outlook on life"; "I believe that each day has potential". These questions assess connectedness to positive expectations for the future, inter-connectedness with other people, and inner positive expectancy. Participants responded on a 4-point scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." Two items need to be reversely coded, and the total hope score ranges from 12 to 48. A higher score means more hopefulness toward the future.
Change in Score on Enright Forgiveness Inventory
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
Enright Forgiveness Inventory Short Form (30 items) was used as a measurement of forgiveness. It includes three subscales: affect, behavior, and cognition, with 10 items in each subscale. The introductory material at the beginning asks participants to focus on the worst injustice they experienced before their first imprisonment, and to indicate the person who unfairly treated them, time to event, degree of hurt and a brief description of the experience. Then participants were asked to think about the person who hurt them and rate the 30 items on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." Half of the items are negative statements, and reverse coding is done in the data analysis. An example of the positive items is "I feel warm toward him/her," and a negative one is "Regarding this person, I disapprove of him/her." The total forgiveness scores range from 30 to 180, with each subscale scores in the range of 10 to 60. A higher score means more forgiving.
Change in Score on Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory Form B (Adult Version), consisting of 25 true-false statements evaluating attitudes toward the self in the following domains: general self, social self, self and peers, self and parents, such as "I can make up my mind without too much trouble"; "I have a low opinion of myself". Whereas the original inventory was developed for use with children, Form B has been successfully modified and applied for adults both in college and industry. A participant gets 1 point for each "True" response and 0 point for each "False" response to 8 positive self-esteem statements, and the reverse points to 17 negative statements. Scores range from 0 to 25. A higher score means a higher self-esteem a participant has.
Change in Toronto Empathy Questionnaire Score
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) developed in partnership with the University of Toronto contains 16 items that cover both positive and absent responses of emotional empathy, such as "It upsets me to see someone being treated disrespectfully." "I enjoy making other people feel better." Participants responded on a 5-point scale ranging from "never" to "always." Half of the items need to be reversely coded, and the total empathy score ranges from 16 to 90. A higher score means a higher level of empathy.
Change in Score on Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months
The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (20-item short version) was used here to measure if a participant is "faking good" to meet the social desirability in psychological tests. It also assesses the degree to which each participant is taking this set of questionnaires seriously or not. This 20-item short version of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale was developed by Strahan and Gerbasi, with 20 statements using a true/false response format. An example is "I never hesitate to go out of my way to help someone in trouble." A participant gets 1 point for each "True" response and 0 point for each "False" response to 10 socially desired statements, and the reverse points to 10 not socially desired statements. Scores range from 0 to 20. A higher score represents a higher tendency of "faking good" in the test.
Score on Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure (MACE) Scale
Time frame: Baseline
The MACE scale includes 52 items and measures retrospectively ten types of maltreatment during each year of childhood from 1 to 18 years old. The ten subscales or types of maltreatment measured include: emotional neglect, non-verbal emotional abuse, parental physical maltreatment, parental verbal abuse, peer emotional abuse, peer physical bullying, physical neglect, sexual abuse, witnessing interparental violence, and witnessing violence to siblings.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 25 May 2022.
- Background: PubMed 29926759Erzar T, Yu L, Enright RD, Kompan Erzar K. Childhood Victimization, Recent Injustice, Anger, and Forgiveness in a Sample of Imprisoned Male Offenders. Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2019 Jan;63(1):18-31. doi: 10.1177/0306624X18781782. Epub 2018 Jun 21.
- Background: PubMed 25914886Lee YR, Enright RD. A Forgiveness Intervention for Women With Fibromyalgia Who Were Abused in Childhood: A Pilot Study. Spiritual Clin Pract (Wash D C ). 2014 Sep;1(3):203-217. doi: 10.1037/scp0000025. Epub 2014 Aug 25.
- Background: PubMed 20186637Waltman MA, Russell DC, Coyle CT, Enright RD, Holter AC, M Swoboda C. The effects of a forgiveness intervention on patients with coronary artery disease. Psychol Health. 2009 Jan;24(1):11-27. doi: 10.1080/08870440903126371.
- Background: PubMed 19445342Hansen MJ, Enright RD, Baskin TW, Klatt J. A palliative care intervention in forgiveness therapy for elderly terminally ill cancer patients. J Palliat Care. 2009 Spring;25(1):51-60.
- Background: PubMed 17032096Reed GL, Enright RD. The effects of forgiveness therapy on depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress for women after spousal emotional abuse. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2006 Oct;74(5):920-9. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.74.5.920.
- Background: PubMed 15612857Lin WF, Mack D, Enright RD, Krahn D, Baskin TW. Effects of forgiveness therapy on anger, mood, and vulnerability to substance use among inpatient substance-dependent clients. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2004 Dec;72(6):1114-21. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.72.6.1114.
- Background: PubMed 22122165McKay KM, Hill MS, Freedman SR, Enright RD. Towards a feminist empowerment model of forgiveness psychotherapy. Psychotherapy (Chic). 2007 Mar;44(1):14-29. doi: 10.1037/0033-3204.44.1.14.
- BackgroundEnright, R. D., Erzar, T., Gambaro, M., Komoski, M. C., O'Boyle, J., Reed, G., & ... Yu, L. (2016). Proposing Forgiveness Therapy for those in Prison: An Intervention Strategy for Reducing Anger and Promoting Psychological Health. Journal of Forensic Psychology, 1, 116. DOI: 10.4172/2475-319X.1000116.
- BackgroundYu, L., Gambaro, M., Komoski, M. C., Song, M. J., Song, M., Teslik, M., Wollner, B., & Enright, R. D. (2018). The Silent Injustices against Men in Maximum Security Prison and the Need for Forgiveness Therapy: Two Case Studies. Journal of Forensic Psychology, 3, 137. DOI: 10.4172/2475-319X.1000137.
- Project descriptions on this studyLink provided by the sponsor.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
Not yet recruiting
The Effect of a Self-Compassionate Mindfulness Psychoeducation Program Implemented in Prison on Internalized Stigma, Emotion Regulation, and Forgiveness in Juvenile Delinquents
Juvenile Delinquency
RecruitingObservational study
Prospective Multicenter Study of the Relationship Between Virological Effectiveness and Compliance in HIV-1-infected Patients Treated With Bictegravir
HIV Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Adherence
Not yet recruiting
Emotion, Aging, and Forgiveness: Protocol for a Feasibility of Randomized Controlled Trial
Emotion-Focused Therapy, Aging
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Robert Enright, PhD principal investigator
University of Wisconsin, Madison
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Forgiveness Therapy and Carey Guides in people with Forgiveness, run by University of Wisconsin, Madison at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 25 May 2022. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change in Score on Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Measures of Anger (time frame: Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months). The study lists 9 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04373954, which also lists 9 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 25 May 2022.