Decisional forgiveness across spanish and american samples: Translation, validation, and measurement invariance of the decision to forgive scale

Abstract

More than twenty different models of how forgiveness occurs have been proposed within forgiveness literature. One idea highlighted in many of these models was that forgiveness entails, at some point, a decision to forgive the offender. The Decision to Forgive Scale (DTFS) is a 5-item measure that allows the assessment of this construct. The aim of this study is to translate and validate the DTFS into Spanish (DTFS-S) and to provide evidence of measurement invariance across Spanish and American samples. The scale was translated using the back-translation process. A total of N = 571 participants completed the final version of the DTFS-S. Confirmatory factor analyses were computed to assess dimensionality, test for measurement invariance across populations, and provide evidence differentiating decisional forgiveness from total forgiveness. Reliability and additional validity analyses were performed. Results indicated a unidimensional structure of the scale. Partial metric invariance was achieved between Spanish and American samples. A 4-factor model demonstrated that DTFS-S is different from the Transgression-Related Inventory of Motivations (TRIM)-18-S (i.e., Spanish version) subscales. The results obtained suggested that scores on the Spanish version of the Decision To Forgive Scale are reliable and correlate with theoretically consistent variables. Researchers should consider the differences between cultures when assessing decisional forgiveness.