Touch reduces romantic jealousy in the anxiously attached

Abstract

Feelings of jealousy are usually detrimental to relationships, often resulting in negative outcomes ranging from conflict to violence and relationship dissolution. Anxiously attached individuals are especially prone to jealousy in their relationships and are therefore especially likely to experience negative outcomes of jealousy. In this research, we examined the effectiveness of both touch and a traditional security prime as a potential means of reducing feelings of jealousy for individuals who are high in anxious attachment. Individuals in romantic relationships were induced to feel jealous, during which time they were randomly assigned to receive affectionate touch from their partners, a traditional nontouch security prime, or no intervention (control). Results revealed that anxious attachment was associated with high levels of jealousy, and touch was an effective buffer against jealous feelings for individuals high in anxious attachment. The traditional security prime did not buffer jealous feelings. Implications of results for potential relationship interventions are discussed.

Partners’ Relationship Mindfulness Promotes Better Daily Relationship Behaviours for Insecurely Attached Individuals

“…People with both more and less anxious partners reported enacting fewer negative behaviours on days when they themselves reported higher (vs. lower) RM, but this effect was stronger for individuals with highly anxious partners. Our findings align with research suggesting that safe strategies, including soothing anxious concerns (e.g., through touch; [ 5 ] and diffusing hurt feelings [ 16 ]), can buffer anxiety, although in the current research, the benefits were limited to partner behaviours rather than those of the anxious individual themselves. Having higher RM may help the partners of anxious individuals engage more constructively in the face of hyperactivating strategies and negative emotions, allowing them to expend their resources in enacting safe strategies.…”

“…Partners’ attachment anxiety (i.e., worries about rejection and abandonment) and attachment avoidance (i.e., discomfort with intimacy and desire for emotional independence) are typically associated with negative relationship outcomes such as lower general satisfaction, connectedness, and support, and higher destructive interaction and conflict [ 1 , 3 ]. However, in recent years, research has begun to discover how to buffer insecure attachment (a term used to describe individuals who score high on attachment anxiety or avoidance) and improve relationship outcomes [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Our understanding of the specific processes that buffer attachment insecurity day-to-day, however, is still in its infancy.…”

“…They may involve communicating how and why certain needs and requests are reasonable, respecting the avoidant individual’s need for autonomy within the context of positive relationship experiences. Recent empirical research has found that avoidance is buffered by gratitude, positive relationship experiences, and a partner’s non-verbal affectionate communication [ 6 , 25 , 26 ], whereas anxiety is buffered by physical touch, general mindfulness, and higher perceived partner support [ 5 , 27 , 28 ]. A process which may buffer both anxiety and avoidance is RM, as, theoretically, it should downregulate hyperactivating and deactivating strategies [ 27 ].…”

Affective touch experiences across the lifespan: Development of the Tactile Biography questionnaire and the mediating role of attachment style

“…A potential explanation for the link between earlier touch an attachment avoidance in particular could be the suggested association between lower self-reported frequencies of early parental touch with a poorer ‘other’ image, which in turn is potentially indicative of higher attachment related avoidance [ 42 ]. In addition, while avoidant individuals can perceive touch as aversive, anxious individuals present more ambivalent feelings towards interpersonal touch [ 43 , 66 ]. This could explain the lack of significant results between attachment anxiety and the touch experiences dimensions from the TBIO.…”

Walking a security tightrope: relationship-induced changes in attachment security

“…As Table 1 suggests, when anxious individuals fear relationship threats, partners may prevent further insecurity by enacting strategies that convey "safety" in their relationship ( [12] and see "safe strategies" in the Table 1 note). Skilled partners provide reassurance and convey strong commitment, for example, by exaggerating affection and avoiding criticism, addressing an anxious person's hurt feelings by expressing remorse, and combatting an anxious person's jealousy through intimate touch [24][25][26].…”