Introduction
The Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS) is an 18-item self-report questionnaire that measures dispositional forgiveness, a person's general tendency to be forgiving, rather than forgiveness of a specific event or person. Laura Yamhure Thompson, C. R. Snyder and colleagues at the University of Kansas published it in 2005.
The HFS covers forgiveness of self, of others and of situations, with six items for each. This guide explains its subscales, scoring rules, translations and evidence.
Key Features of the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS)
Purpose and Use
The HFS measures the general tendency to forgive. Its items include both forgiveness-oriented and unforgiveness-oriented statements, so it captures a person's overall disposition rather than a response to a single event.
Target Population
The HFS does not specify a fixed age range, but it was designed mainly for older adolescents and adults. It has been widely used with college and university students, who formed the main samples in the original development studies.
Structure
The HFS has 18 items in three subscales of six items each:
Subscale
What it covers
Items
Forgiveness of Self
Forgiving oneself for personal mistakes, failures or wrongdoing
6
Forgiveness of Others
Forgiving people who have caused harm, offense or injustice
6
Forgiveness of Situations
Forgiving or accepting difficult life circumstances and uncontrollable negative events
6
Scoring Method
Items are rated on a 7-point scale from 1 (Almost Always False of Me) to 7 (Almost Always True of Me).
Items scored as written: 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18Reverse-scored items: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17 (an answer of 1 scores 7, and an answer of 7 scores 1)Total HFS: the sum of all 18 items, from 18 to 126Subscale scores: the sum of each subscale's six items, from 6 to 42Higher scores indicate greater dispositional forgiveness. There are no established clinical cut-off scores.
Administration Format
The HFS is a self-report questionnaire.
Applications of the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS)
The HFS supports several uses:
Research: measuring trait forgiveness in positive psychology and mental health studies.Intervention studies: monitoring changes in forgiveness over time, although this is not its primary purpose.Languages and availability
Translations of the HFS, with related studies, are listed on the official HFS translations page. A Spanish validation has also examined its psychometric properties.
The HFS is available free of charge for academic and research purposes through the official website. Permission from the copyright holders may be needed for some uses, such as reproducing the full questionnaire, and non-commercial research use may require author permission.
Reliability and Validity
The HFS was developed and tested across samples of college and university students in the original development studies, and its psychometric properties have since been examined in other populations, including a Spanish sample.
Validation studies:
Dispositional forgiveness of self, others, and situations (2005): study linkMeasuring forgiveness: psychometric properties of the HFS in the Spanish population (2020): study linkTranslations and related studies: HFS translations pageLimitations and Considerations
Keep these points in mind:
No cut-offs: the HFS has no established clinical cut-off scores.Development samples: the original samples were mainly college and university students.Not designed for monitoring: tracking change over time is possible but not its primary purpose.Permissions: some uses, such as reproducing the full questionnaire, may need permission.Other Versions And Related Questionnaires
A Spanish version has been validated in the Spanish population.
These questionnaires are related:
Enright Forgiveness Inventory (EFI)Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory (TRIM)Tendency to Forgive Scale (TTF)Willingness to Forgive Scale (WTF)Forgiveness Likelihood Scale (FLS)Mauger Forgiveness Scales (MFS)Additional Resources
The original article: linkThe official Heartland Forgiveness Scale website: linkFor inquiries, contact Laura Yamhure Thompson at laura_thompson@hms.harvard.edu.Browse more psychology questionnaires in the ResRef database.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does the Heartland Forgiveness Scale measure?The HFS measures dispositional forgiveness, the general tendency to forgive, across three areas: forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others and forgiveness of situations.
How is the HFS scored?Items are rated from 1 to 7, and nine items (2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17) are reverse scored. Sum all items for a total of 18 to 126, or each subscale for 6 to 42.
Does the HFS have a cut-off score?No. The HFS has no established clinical cut-off scores. Higher scores simply indicate greater dispositional forgiveness, so it is used as a continuous measure.
Is the Heartland Forgiveness Scale free to use?Yes, for academic and research purposes it is available free of charge through the official website. Permission from the copyright holders may be needed for some uses, such as reproducing the full questionnaire.
A Word from ResRef About the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS)
The Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS) is a self-report questionnaire developed by Thompson et al. (2005) to assess an individual's dispositional tendency to forgive. It measures forgiveness across three domains: forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others and forgiveness of situations. The original scale consists of 18 items, with six items for each domain, and uses a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Almost Always False of Me) to 7 (Almost Always True of Me).
References
Thompson, L. Y., Snyder, C. R., Hoffman, L., Michael, S. T., Rasmussen, H. N., Billings, L. S., Heinze, L., Neufeld, J. E., Shorey, H. S., Roberts, J. C., & Roberts, D. E. (2005). Dispositional forgiveness of self, others, and situations. Journal of Personality, 73(2), 313–59. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00311.xGallo-Giunzioni, K., Prieto-Ursúa, M., Fernández-Belinchón, C., & Luque-Reca, O. (2020). Measuring Forgiveness: Psychometric Properties of the Heartland Forgiveness Scale in the Spanish Population. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(1), 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18010045