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Sex differences in jealousy: a contribution from attachment theory.
Kenneth N Levy1, Kristen M Kelly
1Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16803, USA. klevy@psu.edu
Psychological Science
|April 29, 2010
Summary
Attachment styles significantly influence jealousy responses to infidelity. Secure individuals experience more distress from emotional infidelity, while dismissive-avoidant individuals are more distressed by sexual infidelity, explaining both sex and individual differences.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Traditional views link sex differences in infidelity distress to evolutionary pressures on parental investment and certainty.
- Existing theories explain between-sex differences but fail to account for within-sex variations in jealousy responses.
- A notable number of men report emotional infidelity as more distressing than sexual infidelity, challenging current models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of attachment styles in explaining both between- and within-sex differences in jealousy regarding infidelity.
- To test the hypothesis that attachment differences mediate the differential distress experienced by men and women towards sexual versus emotional infidelity.
Main Methods:
- Survey research involving 411 participants assessing jealousy responses to sexual and emotional infidelity.
- Categorization of participants based on attachment styles (e.g., secure, dismissing-avoidant).
- Statistical analysis using sequential logistic regression to examine the moderating effect of attachment style on the sex-jealousy relationship.
Main Results:
- Dismissing-avoidant individuals reported greater jealousy concerning sexual infidelity (64.8%) compared to emotional infidelity.
- Secure individuals, including secure men, reported greater jealousy regarding emotional infidelity (77.3%) than sexual infidelity.
- Attachment style significantly moderated the relationship between sex and jealousy responses (χ²(3, N = 411) = 45.03, p < .001).
Conclusions:
- Attachment theory provides a robust framework for understanding both sex differences and individual variations in infidelity-related jealousy.
- Secure attachment is associated with greater distress over emotional infidelity, whereas dismissive-avoidant attachment is linked to greater distress over sexual infidelity.
- An attachment perspective offers a more nuanced explanation for jealousy responses than evolutionary models alone.
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