To Increase Psychological Well-being by the Implementation of Forgiveness Education
Condition: Anger; Depressive Symptoms; Anxiety
MeSH terms: Depression
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This project examines the development of psychological well-being in children and teachers
      through a 12- week forgiveness education program conducted in three conflict zones of the
      world, Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine, and Taiwan.

      A 12-week forgiveness education program will be investigated in elementary schools in three
      conflict zones of the world, Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine, and Taiwan. The
      responsibilities of the sub-team in each of the three research sites will be:

        -  a. recruiting schools, assisting the teacher training before the forgiveness education
           program starts

        -  b. shepherding teachers, doing the fidelity checks, administering the instruments and
           collecting data during the forgiveness education program.

      Once a school gives permission to be part of this study, the forgiveness curriculum will be
      implemented as a 12-week standard curriculum for the grade 5 (US equivalency) students.
      Teachers of the grade 5 classes will be trained to administer the program. Teachers, students
      and their parents must give the consent to take part in the measures of the study.
    

Detailed description: 
      Classrooms participating in this study will be randomly assigned to either an experimental or
      a control group. The experimental group will receive the 1st forgiveness intervention for 12
      weeks and then the control group will turn into an experimental group to receive a 2nd
      forgiveness intervention for 12 weeks.

      In order to assess if such education increases psychological well-being in students
      (children) and teachers (adults), teachers and students in both groups will receive the same
      measures for four times in the study: within one week before the 1st forgiveness
      intervention, within one week after the 1st forgiveness intervention, within one week after
      the 2nd forgiveness intervention, four weeks after the 2nd forgiveness intervention.

      The instruments include: for teachers, the assessment data will consist of the Enright
      Forgiveness Inventory Short Form (EFI-30), the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement
      Information System (PROMIS): Anger, Anxiety, and Depression scales, the Ethnic Prejudice
      Scale, the Herth Hope Index, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, a Classroom Cooperation scale,
      and a Cross-Cultural Exit Interview (written questionnaire). For students, the assessment
      data will consist of the Enright Forgiveness Inventory for Children (EFI-C), the PROMIS
      measures for pediatric self-report (ages 8-17): Anger, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms
      scales, the Ethnic Prejudice Scale for children, the Children's Hope Scale, the Coopersmith
      Self-Esteem Inventory (School Form), and academic achievement (likely to be scores/grades of
      Math, writing and reading in their own language). After the 2nd forgiveness intervention,
      select participants (teachers and children) will take part in individual interviews.
    

Intervention name(s): forgiveness education intervention
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): The forgiveness education intervention primarily teaches the concept of forgiveness through stories. We chose the kind of stories that should appeal to children ages 10 through 12. Each lesson is planned according to the following procedure: story-telling/movie-watching, discussion, and in-class activities.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Intervention model description: Classrooms participating in this study will be randomly assigned to either an experimental group (with forgiveness intervention) or a control group (with regular instruction). The experimental group will receive the 1st forgiveness intervention for 12 weeks and then the control group will turn into an experimental group to receive a 2nd forgiveness intervention for 12 weeks.
Masking: Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Basic Science