The impact of adult attachment styles on romantic jealousy

Jealousy is an emotional complex that emerges at anearly age as a natural human reaction. Studies on theantecedents of jealousy suggest that certainpersonality characteristics mainly low self-esteemand feelings of inadequacy are strongly associatedwith jealousy. In addition to individualcharacteristics the characteristics of therelationship including dependency andinterdependency affect jealousy. These determinantsof jealousy are also functions of attachment andaffect regulation processes. Consequentlyindividuals with different attachment patterns areexpected to display specific reactions tojealousy-evoking situations that are consistent withtheir attachment styles. This book investigates therelationship between mental models of attachment andjealousy through a mediational model. Findings indicate that a more positive model of selfand others is related to a lower level of inadequacythat in turn contributes to a lower level of jealousy.