Abstract
This study examined the construct of anticipated jealousy, conceptually clarifying the components of this construct and creating an optimized scale. Total of 18 items from three widely used self-report measures of jealousy (Multidimensional Jealousy Scale–Emotional Subscale, Anticipated Sexual Jealousy Scale, and Chronic Jealousy Scale) and additional 11 potential anticipated jealousy items were given to 1852 individuals in relationships. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and item response theory (IRT) analyses were used to develop and evaluate the Anticipated Jealousy Scale (AJS). By augmenting the item pool, the results highlighted that anticipated jealousy could take two distinct forms: (1) sexual—getting upset over thoughts of a partner engaging in sexual activity with someone else and (2) possessive—getting upset over a partner forming friendships and emotional bonds with others. IRT analyses helped identify the five most effective items for assessing each of those domains to create the AJS. Results suggested that the subscales of the AJS offered greater precision and power in detecting meaningful differences among respondents than the existing measures, representing short yet psychometrically optimized scales. The AJS subscales demonstrated strong convergent validity with other measures of anticipated sexual and possessive jealousy, and excellent construct and discriminant validity with anchor scales from the nomological net surrounding the construct. Finally, regression analyses demonstrated distinct predictors and correlates for anticipated sexual jealousy, anticipated possessive jealousy, and chronic jealousy. Given the potential utility in distinguishing between the many forms of jealousy, AJS offers an optimized scale measuring anticipated sexual and possessive jealousy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barelds, D. P., & Barelds-Dijkstra, P. (2007). Relations between different types of jealousy and self and partner perceptions of relationship quality. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy: An International Journal of Theory & Practice, 14, 176–188. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.532
Barelds, D. P., Dijkstra, P., Groothof, H. A., & Pastoor, C. D. (2017). The Dark Triad and three types of jealousy: Its’ relations among heterosexuals and homosexuals involved in a romantic relationship. Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 6–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.04.017
Barnett, O. W., Martinez, T. E., & Bluestein, B. W. (1995). Jealousy and romantic attachment in maritally violent and nonviolent men. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 10, 473–486. https://doi.org/10.1177/088626095010004006
Bevan, J. L. (2004). General partner and relational uncertainty as consequences of another person’s jealousy expression. Western Journal of Communication, 68, 195–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570310409374796
Bevan, J. L., & Hale, J. L. (2006). Negative jealousy-related emotion rumination as consequences of romantic partner, cross-sex friend, and sibling jealousy expression. Communication Studies, 57, 363–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510970600945907
Bringle, R. G., Roach, S., Andler, C., & Evenbeck, S. (1977). Correlates of jealousy. Paper presented at the meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.
Buss, D. M. (1988). From vigilance to violence: Tactics of mate retention in American undergraduates. Ethology and Sociobiology, 9, 291–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/0162-3095(88)90010-6
Buss, D. M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12, 1–49. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00023992
Buss, D. M., & Shackelford, T. K. (1997). From vigilance to violence: Mate retention tactics in married couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 346–361. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.72.2.346
Buunk, B. (1981). Jealousy in sexually open marriages. Alternative Lifestyles, 4(3), 357–372. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01257944
Buunk, B. (1982). Anticipated sexual jealousy: Its relationship to self-esteem, dependency, and reciprocity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 8, 310–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167282082019
Buunk, B. P. (1997). Personality, birth order and attachment styles as related to various types of jealousy. Personality and Individual Differences, 23(6), 997–1006. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(97)00136-0
Buunk, B. (1998). The anticipated sexual jealousy scale. In C. Davis, W. Yarber, R. Bauserman, G. Schreer, & S. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of sexuality-related measures (2nd ed., pp. 432–433). Sage.
Buunk, A. P., & Dijkstra, P. (2006). Temptations and threat: Extradyadic relations and jealousy. In A. L. Vangelisti & D. Perlman (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of personal relationships (pp. 533–555). Cambridge University Press.
Chen, F. F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14, 464–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701301834
Chin, K., Atkinson, B. E., Raheb, H., Harris, E., & Vernon, P. A. (2017). The dark side of romantic jealousy. Personality and Individual Differences, 115, 23–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.10.003
Cobey, K. D., Buunk, A. P., Roberts, S. C., Klipping, C., Appels, N., Zimmerman, Y., Bennink, H. J. T., & Pollet, T. V. (2012). Reported jealousy differs as a function of menstrual cycle stage and contraceptive pill use: A within-subjects investigation. Evolution and Human Behavior, 33, 395–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2011.12.001
Cronbach, L. J., & Meehl, P. E. (1955). Construct validity in psychological tests. Psychological Bulletin, 52, 281–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0040957
Dainton, M., & Aylor, B. (2001). A relational uncertainty analysis of jealousy, trust, and maintenance in long-distance versus geographically close relationships. Communication Quarterly, 49, 172–188. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463370109385624
DiBello, A. M., Neighbors, C., Rodriguez, L. M., & Lindgren, K. (2014). Coping with jealousy: The association between maladaptive aspects of jealousy and drinking problems is mediated by drinking to cope. Addictive Behaviors, 39, 94–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.08.032
DiBello, A. M., Rodriguez, L. M., Hadden, B. W., & Neighbors, C. (2015). The green eyed monster in the bottle: Relationship contingent self-esteem, romantic jealousy, and alcohol-related problems. Addictive Behaviors, 49, 52–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.05.008
Dugosh, J. W. (2000). On predicting relationship satisfaction from jealousy: The moderating effects of love. Current Research in Social Psychology, 5, 254–263.
Elphinston, R. A., Feeney, J. A., & Noller, P. (2011). Measuring romantic jealousy: Validation of the Multidimensional Jealousy Scale in Australian samples. Australian Journal of Psychology, 63, 243–251. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-9536.2011.00026.x
Fincham, F. D., & May, R. W. (2017). Infidelity in romantic relationships. Current Opinion in Psychology, 13, 70–74.
Fraley, R. C., & Shaver, P. R. (2016). Attachment, loss, and grief: Bowlby’s views, new developments, and current controversies. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (Third ed., pp. 40–62). Guilford Press.
Fraley, R. C., Waller, N. G., & Brennan, K. A. (2000). An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 350–365. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.78.2.350
Funk, J. L., & Rogge, R. D. (2007). Testing the ruler with item response theory: Increasing precision of measurement for relationship satisfaction with the Couples Satisfaction Index. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 572–583. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.21.4.572
Gagné, F. M., & Lydon, J. E. (2004). Bias and accuracy in close relationships: An integrative review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8(4), 322–338.
Guerrero, L. K. (2014). Jealousy and relational satisfaction: Actor effects, partner effects, and the mediating role of destructive communicative responses to jealousy. Western Journal of Communication, 78, 586–611. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2014.935468
Guerrero, L. K., & Eloy, S. V. (1992). Relational satisfaction and jealousy across marital types. Communication Reports, 5, 23–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/08934219209367540
Guerrero, L. K., Spitzberg, B. H., & Yoshimura, S. M. (2004). Sexual and emotional jealousy. In J. H. Harvey, A. Wenzel, & S. Sprecher (Eds.), The handbook of sexuality in close relationships (pp. 311–345). Erlbaum.
Hambleton, R. K., Swaminathan, H., & Rogers, H. J. (1991). Fundamentals of item response theory. Sage.
Hangen, F., Crasta, D., & Rogge, R. D. (2020). Delineating the boundaries between nonmonogamy and infidelity: Bringing consent back into definitions of consensual nonmonogamy with latent profile analysis. Journal of Sex Research, 57, 438–457. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2019.1669133
Hangen, F., & Rogge, R. D. (2021). Focusing the conceptualization of erotophilia and erotophobia on global attitudes toward sex: Development and validation of the Sex Positivity-Negativity Scale. Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02085-7
Haupert, M., Gesselman, A., Moors, A., Fisher, H., & Garcia, J. (2016). Prevalence of experiences with consensual non-monogamous relationships: Findings from two nationally representative samples of single Americans. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 43, 424–440. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2016.1178675
Hosking, W. (2014). Australian gay men’s satisfaction with sexual agreements: The roles of relationship quality, jealousy, and monogamy attitudes. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 43(4), 823–832. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-013-0197-7
Jones, D. N., & Paulhus, D. L. (2014). Introducing the Short Dark Triad (SD3): A brief measure of dark personality traits. Assessment, 21, 28–41.
Kalichman, S. C., Johnson, J. R., Adair, V., Rompa, D., Multhauf, K., & Kelly, J. A. (1994). Sexual sensation seeking: Scale development and predicting AIDS-risk behavior among homosexually active men. Journal of Personality Assessment, 62, 385–397. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191113514105
Larzelere, R. E., & Huston, T. L. (1980). The Dyadic Trust Scale: Toward understanding interpersonal trust in close relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 42, 595–604. https://doi.org/10.2307/351903
Legate, N., & Rogge, R. D. (2019). Identifying basic classes of sexual orientation with latent profile analysis: Developing the multivariate sexual orientation classification system. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48, 1403–1422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-018-1336-y
Martínez-León, N. C., Peña, J. J., Salazar, H., García, A., & Sierra, J. C. (2017). A systematic review of romantic jealousy in relationships. Terapia Psicológica, 35, 203–212. https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-48082017000200203
Mathes, E. W. (1986). Jealousy and romantic love: A longitudinal study. Psychological Reports, 58, 885–886. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1986.58.3.885
Mathes, E. W., Roter, P. M., & Joerger, S. M. (1982). A convergent validity study of six jealousy scales. Psychological Reports, 50, 1143–1147. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1981.49.1.23
Mathes, E. W., & Severa, N. (1981). Jealousy, romantic love, and liking: Theoretical considerations and preliminary scale development. Psychological Reports, 49, 23–31. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1981.49.1.23
Meng, X. L., Rosenthal, R., & Rubin, D. B. (1992). Comparing correlated correlation coefficients. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 172–175. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.111.1.172
Mogilski, J. K., Reeve, S. D., Nicolas, S. C., Donaldson, S. H., Mitchell, V. E., & Welling, L. L. (2019). Jealousy, consent, and compersion within monogamous and consensually non-monogamous romantic relationships. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48, 1811–1828. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-018-1286-4
Parrott, W. G. (1991). The emotional experience of envy and jealousy. In P. Salovey (Ed.), The psychology of jealousy and envy (pp. 3–30). Guilford Press.
Penke, L. (2011). Revised sociosexual orientation inventory. In T. Fisher, C. Davis, W. Yarber, & S. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of sexuality-related measures (3rd ed., pp. 622–625). Routledge.
Pfeiffer, S. M., & Wong, P. T. (1989). Multidimensional jealousy. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 6, 181–196. https://doi.org/10.1177/026540758900600203
Reis, H. T., Crasta, D., Rogge, R. D., Maniaci, M. R., & Carmichael, C. L. (2017). Perceived Partner Responsiveness Scale (PPRS) (Reis & Carmichael, 2006). In D. L. Worthington & G. D. Bodie (Eds.), The sourcebook of listening research: Methodology and measures. Wiley Online Library. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119102991.ch57
Rodrigues, A., & Rogge, R. D. (2007). How many ways can conflict be hurtful? Exploring the underlying structure of aversive behavior in relationships. Retrieved from: http://couples-research.com/measures/
Rydell, R. J., & Bringle, R. G. (2007). Differentiating reactive and suspicious jealousy. Social Behavior and Personality, 35, 1099–1114. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2007.35.8.1099
Rydell, R. J., McConnell, A. R., & Bringle, R. G. (2004). Jealousy and commitment: Perceived threat and the effect of relationship alternatives. Personal Relationships, 11, 451–468. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2004.00092.x
Samejima, F. (1997). Graded response model. In W. J. van der Linden & R. K. Hambleton (Eds.), Handbook of modern item response theory (pp. 85–100). Springer.
Van de Schoot, R., Lugtig, P., & Hox, J. (2012). A checklist for testing measurement invariance. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 9, 486–492. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2012.686740
Sharpsteen, D. J., & Kirkpatrick, L. A. (1997). Romantic jealousy and adult romantic attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 627. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.72.3.627
Stanley, S. M., & Markman, H. J. (1992). Assessing commitment in personal relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54, 595–608. https://doi.org/10.2307/353245
Thissen, D., Chen, W. H., & Bock, D. (2002). Multilog user’s guide: Multiple, categorical item and test scoring using item response theory. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International.
White, G. L. (1981). A model of romantic jealousy. Motivation and Emotion, 5, 295–310. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00992549
White, G. L. (1984). Comparison of four jealousy scales. Journal of Research in Personality, 18(2), 115–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(84)90024-2
White, G. L. & Mullen, P. E. (1989). Jealousy: Theory, research, and clinical strategies. Guilford.
Funding
There are no funding sources to report.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
RR and AP designed the study together (with input from AB) and developed the study materials. RR obtained IRB approval and programmed the survey online. RR, AP, and AB recruited the sample, cleaned the data, and ran the analyses together. RR developed the tables and figures while AP wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All three authors then copy edited the manuscript and are responsible for all of its content.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of interest
Neither author has any financial conflicts of interest to report for this project or this manuscript.
Ethical Approval
All procedures and materials for this study were approved by an University of Rochester Research Subjects Review Board (our IRB).
Data Availability
The IRB materials, study materials, SPSS syntax, Mplus syntax and output, and data for this manuscript will be made available on the osf.io website.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pollard, A., Black, A.E. & Rogge, R.D. Clarifying Anticipated Feelings of Jealousy: Development and Validation of the Anticipated Jealousy Scale. Arch Sex Behav 51, 1471–1494 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02184-5
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02184-5