A bibliometric analysis of self-forgiveness research: trends, networks, and thematic developments

Self-forgiveness has received increasing attention in psychological research because of its relevance to guilt regulation, psychological well-being, resilience, spirituality, and mental health. However, the global development and thematic structure of self-forgiveness research have not yet been comprehensively examined through bibliometric methods. This study aimed to examine the global evolution, thematic patterns, and research focus within the self-forgiveness literature. A total of 493 articles on self-forgiveness were retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database and analyzed using the Bibliometrix R-package and its Biblioshiny interface. The dataset included research and review articles published without language restrictions until August 2025. The analysis identified 493 articles authored by 1297 researchers and revealed a steady growth in self-forgiveness research, with an annual growth rate of 12.07%. The United States, Australia, China, Israel, and Turkey were identified as leading contributors. Across the included studies, 1124 author keywords were identified. The most frequently occurring keywords were “forgiveness,” “well-being,” “resilience,” “health,” and “spirituality,” while recent topics increasingly included “flourishing” and “life satisfaction.” The findings suggest that self-forgiveness constitutes an increasingly differentiated line of inquiry while remaining thematically embedded within the broader forgiveness literature. The study provides a structured overview of indexed scholarly trends and highlights underdeveloped methodological areas, particularly psychometric properties and cross-cultural validation, which represent important directions for future research.