Reactive, Anxious and Possessive Forms of Jealousy and Their Relation to Relationship Quality Among Heterosexuals and Homosexuals

D. Barelds, P. Dijkstra

The present study examined the relationship between relational quality and three different types of jealousy-reactive, anxious and possessive jealousy. The sample consisted of 76 gay men, 79 lesbians, 70 heterosexual women and 70 heterosexual men. Findings show that different types of jealousy affect relationship quality differently and do so differently for homosexuals and heterosexuals. Among heterosexuals and especially gay men-but not among lesbians-anxious jealousy was negatively related to relationship quality. In contrast, among heterosexualsbut not among gay men or lesbians-reactive jealousy was positively related to relationship quality. The present study shows that distinguishing between different types of jealousy is necessary to entangle the diverse effects of jealousy on the quality of homosexual and heterosexual relationships.[Copies are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Center. The Haworth Press, Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580, USA]