Does resilience help sustain relationships in the face of interpersonal transgressions

Abstract This research tested the relation between victims’ trait resilience and transgression severity on unforgiving and forgiving responses. We predicted that less resilient people would be less forgiving, whereas more resilient people would be more forgiving. We also expected resilience and transgression severity would interact to influence victims’ responses. Two studies that varied in samples (community, undergraduate) and methods (observational, quasi-experimental) confirmed our hypotheses. In Study 1 (N = 171), we confirmed our hypotheses using a community sample of adults. The findings were replicated and extended in Study 2 (N = 204), using an undergraduate sample and a quasi-experimental design.