Self-Forgiveness Among Incarcerated Individuals in Ghana: Relations With Shame- and Guilt-Proneness

• Author: Richard G. Cowden,Jeremiah Gadze,Charlotte O. Kwakye-Nuako,Seth Oppong,Everett L. Worthington,Annabella Osei-Tutu
• Published date: 01 April 2021
• Date: 01 April 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X20914496
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X20914496

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2021, Vol. 65(5) 558 –570

© The Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X20914496

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Article

Self-Forgiveness Among

Incarcerated Individuals

in Ghana: Relations With

Shame- and Guilt-Proneness

Annabella Osei-Tutu1, Richard G. Cowden2,

Charlotte O. Kwakye-Nuako1, Jeremiah Gadze1,

Seth Oppong3, and Everett L. Worthington Jr.4

Abstract

Research on the forgiveness of self has largely focused on less severe, more common

types of offenses among samples within developed westernized nations. In this brief

report of a study within a developing nation in Africa, applications of self-forgiveness

are extended to incarcerated people. The sample comprised N = 310 males (83.87%)

and females (16.13%) who were incarcerated in a medium-security Ghanaian prison

(Mage = 39.35, SDage = 13.28). Participants completed measures of self-forgiveness,

shame-proneness, and guilt-proneness. Prison records were examined for criminal

history details. We hypothesized that self-forgiveness would correlate negatively with

shame-proneness and positively with guilt-proneness. We tentatively hypothesized

that this association would be moderated by offense type. Self-forgiveness correlated

with both shame- and guilt-proneness in the hypothesized direction. However,

neither association was moderated by type of offense. The findings offer further

evidence on the salience of self-conscious emotions in forgiving oneself, particularly

among incarcerated offender populations. We discuss the implications of the findings

for enhancing offender rehabilitation initiatives.

Keywords

self-forgiveness, shame-proneness, guilt-proneness, offender, inmate, prison, Ghana,

Africa

1University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

2University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

3University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

4Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA

Corresponding Author:

Annabella Osei-Tutu, Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 25 Legon, Accra, Ghana.

Email: aopare-henaku@ug.edu.gh

914496IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X20914496International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyOsei-Tutu et al.

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