Adolescent social experiences and anxiety as predictors of adult romantic jealousy

Romantic jealousy has been categorized as one of the most destructive emotions in romantic relationships, implicated as a significant predictor of negative relational outcomes such as domestic abuse, depression, and suicide (Pfieffer & Wong, 1989). Despite this, little research has examined the development of romantic jealousy, and, more specifically its connection to adverse social experiences in early adolescence. This study examines peer dislike, number of residential moves, and friend betrayal in early adolescence as predictors of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral jealousy in young adult romantic relationships. Anxiety-related factors of rejection sensitivity, general anxiety, and trust are also analyzed as potential mediators or moderators. Multi-reporter data were obtained from a 17-year study of 184 teens at ages 13, 16-17, and 20-28. Significant correlations were found between friend betrayal and trust, as well as between rejection sensitivity and both anxiety and trust. Friend betrayal was found to be the only significant predictor of adult romantic jealousy but was significant across all three dimensions of jealousy. When post-hoc analyses were performed, a number of significant interactions were found between the three dimensions of jealousy and social and anxiety factors. Limitations and implications of the findings are discussed