Writing in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, a research team led by University of Kentucky social psychologist C. Nathan DeWall links symptoms of Type-2 diabetes to lower levels of forgiveness. Their study suggests low levels of blood glucose are not only dangerous to your health: They may also be poisonous to your personality.
DeWall and his associates describe four experiments testing their thesis, three of which featured 511 volunteers (average age 28) who participated in an Internet survey. They first completed the revised Diabetic Symptoms Checklist, which measures the number and severity of a variety of diabetes symptoms. (Examples include “Numbness or loss of sensation in the feet” and “Shortness of breath at night.”)
Their willingness to forgive was then measured using three different scales. First, they filled out a 10-item survey measuring the degree to which they are predisposed to pardon. It featured questions such as “I can forgive a friend for almost anything.”
Second, they reported their likely forgiveness level in five hypothetical scenarios, such as “Would you forgive a person who revealed something you told them in confidence?” Third, they reported to what degree they had actually forgiven someone who recently hurt them.
The researchers found a positive correlation between diabetic symptoms and a tendency to be unforgiving in both the real and hypothetical situations. They also found a negative correlation between the symptoms and one’s general tendency to forgive.