The Relationship Between Forgiveness, Spirituality, Traumatic Guilt and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Among People with Addiction

Spirituality and forgiveness have been shown to be associated with psychological well-being, while guilt has been associated
with poor health. Little is known, however, about the relationship between forgiveness, spirituality, guilt, posttraumatic
stress (PTSD) and psychological co-morbidity among people in recovery from addiction. Eighty-one people (F = 36, M = 45) in
recovery from drug and alcohol addiction were recruited from two residential units and two drop-in centres in a city in the
United Kingdom. They completed the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS), the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28),
the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (SIBS), the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), the Traumatic Guilt Inventory (TGI),
the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST-22) and the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-20). The control group comprised
of 83 (F = 34, M = 49) individuals who confirmed that they did not have addiction and completed the PDS & GHQ-28. 54 % of
the addiction group met the criteria for full PTSD and reported anxiety, somatic problems and depression. They described themselves
as spiritual, had strong feelings of guilt associated with their addiction, and had difficulty in forgiving themselves. Controlling
for demographics, number of events and medication management, regression analyses showed that spirituality predicted psychological
co-morbidity, whilst feelings of guilt predicted PTSD symptoms and psychological co-morbidity. Unexpectedly, forgiveness did
not predict outcomes. This study supports existing literature, which shows that people with drug and alcohol addiction tend
to have experienced significant past trauma and PTSD symptoms. Their posttraumatic stress reactions and associated psychological
difficulties can be better understood in the light of guilt and spirituality. Meanwhile, their ability to forgive themselves
or others did not seem to influence health outcomes.