Abstracts for Listed 2009 Empirical Publications

S FOR LISTED 2009 EMPIRICAL PUBLICATIONS (ONLY FIRST AUTHOR LISTED UNLESS MULTIPLE ARTICLES BY SAME FIRST AUTHOR) Note: In press abstracts not included Balkin The professional literature diverges in defining the role of forgiveness and reconciliation in counseling regarding how forgiveness and reconciliation are conceptualized from a professional and secular perspective. The Jewish conceptualization of forgiveness is multifaceted; mechila the forgiveness of debt, is particularly important in providing a framework for forgiveness when the issue of reconciliation is involved. The authors offer an explanation of the Jewish conceptualization of forgiveness and discuss a way to infuse the concept of mechila into counseling practice on a broader level with all clients. Burnette The authors investigated the associations between attachment, empathy, rumination, forgiveness, and depressive symptoms via the framework of attachment theory. Participants (N = 221; 141 F and 80 M) completed a battery of questionnaires. We hypothesized that (a) anxious and avoidant attachment would be negatively linked to dispositional forgiveness; (b) the anxious attachmentforgiveness link would be mediated through excessive rumination; (c) the avoidance attachmentforgiveness link would be mediated through lack of empathy; and (d) the insecure attachmentdepression relation would, in turn, be partially mediated by the forgiveness process. SEM modeling confirmed these propositions, revealing the potential deleterious outcomes associated with insecure attachment and unforgiving responses to offenses. Greene This article reports preliminary results of a Templeton Foundation-funded research project on the role of resiliency and forgiveness in 133 elderly Holocaust survivors. We use resilience theory to explore how individuals heal following exposure to an adverse event. We present preliminary findings on survivors' perceptions of their resiliency before, during, and after the Holocaust and suggest a paradigm shift to one in which maintaining competence is primary. In subsequent publications, we will synthesize the frameworks that comprise survivorship to create a model. These findings inform mental health care practitioners' understanding of factors that buffer against the effects of adverse events.