Relations between different types of jealousy and self and partner perceptions of relationship quality

Abstract

The present paper examines the relationships between relationship quality and three different types of jealousy, including both partners' levels of jealousy and perceptions of relationship quality. It was expected that jealousy in response to a direct threat to the relationship-that is, reactive jealousy-would be positively related to relationship quality, whereas forms of jealousy that may also be triggered in the absence of such a threat would be negatively related to relationship quality. Three studies were conducted among large community samples of heterosexual married and cohabiting couples (a total of 961 couples), using three different operationalizations of relationship quality. In all three studies both partners' levels of reactive jealousy related positively to relationship quality, whereas in all three studies, both partners' levels of anxious jealousy were negatively related to relationship quality. Findings and clinical implications are discussed.

A systematic review of romantic jealousy in relationships

“…High scores of jealousy, especially cognitive jealousy (elphinston & Noller, 2011) indicated minor adjustment, satisfaction and perception of quality in the relationship (Barelds & Barelds-Dijkstra, 2007;DiBello et al, 2015;Khanchandani & Durham, 2009). Mathes (1986) made two applications of the interpersonal Jealousy scale to the same sample of people with a period of seven years, and indicated that the effects of jealousy could be positive, in that couples were married and their love continued.…”

Romantic Jealousy and Relationship Satisfaction: The Costs of Rumination

“…Overall, considerable attention has been given to the associations between dimensions of romantic jealousy and relationship outcomes such as relational quality, uncertainty, and satisfaction (e.g., Afifi & Reichert, 1996;Barelds & Barelds-Dijkstra, 2007;. However, researchers have yet to form any robust conclusions regarding the links between jealous thoughts and behaviors and relationship evaluations, and the causal nature of these associations remains unclear.…”

“…However, other research has yielded more mixed findings. Specifically, Barelds and Barelds-Dijkstra (2007) studied three types of romantic jealousy (as outlined by Bringle, 1991;Buunk, 1997)-reactive, anxious, and possessive (or preventative). Reactive jealousy refers to the extent to which individuals feel jealousyrelated emotions in response to an actual partner infidelity, while anxious jealousy is defined as an active cognitive process related to worries about partner behavior in the face of possible partner infidelity; possessive or preventative jealousy involves behaviors designed to prevent partner contact with a third party (again, in response to possible partner infidelity).…”

“…In their series of three studies of long-term cohabiting and married couples, Barelds and Barelds-Dijkstra (2007) assessed relationship outcomes using three measures: relationship adjustment, satisfaction, and quality. The studies consistently showed that the three relationship outcomes were positively linked to reactive jealousy but negatively linked to anxious jealousy.…”

“…and relational dissatisfaction and uncertainty (e.g., Barelds & Barelds-Dijkstra, 2007;Bevan, 2004;Guerrero & Eloy, 1992).…”