A new study suggests that marriage appears to have a protective effect in reducing jealous altercations.
However, the same study concludes that when married couples do fight about jealousy — it hits harder.
In relationships without jealous conflict, three-fourths of the married individuals surveyed were extremely satisfied about the marriages emotional character..
Satisfaction dropped to less than half when jealousy entered the relationship said researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of Iowa.
Unmarried cohabiting couples, emotional satisfied only fell about eight points with jealousy. A similar contrast was observed for physical satisfaction.
“We associate certain rewards with marriage, but there are risks to it as well,” said Anthony Paik, By Rick Nauert PhD reported in PsychcCentral.com
Palk is assistant professor of sociology in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
“The advantages to marriage include deep commitment and trust. But when jealousy occurs in a marriage, that tension can have devastating effects on emotional and physical satisfaction. It’s not a straightforward story that marriage produces happier relationships.”
The study analyzed 681 heterosexual men and women in marriages, cohabitant or non-cohabitant relationships in the city of Chicago and its inner suburbs.
Participants were asked if they had experienced sexual jealousy and their level of physical and emotional satisfaction with their relationship.
From this the study estimated logistic regression models of jealous conflict and ordered logistic regression models of adults’ reported emotional and physical satisfaction of their relationships.
Overall, this research supports the argument that sexual exclusivity expectations are important for understanding the link between marital status and relationship quality.
More than half of cohabiting individuals reported sexual jealousy, compared to about one-third of individuals who lived separately (such as dating couples), and just 18 percent of married individuals.
Paik said the high rate of jealous conflict among cohabiting couples could be due to a strong expectation of exclusivity as other studies suggest 95 percent of cohabitating couples expect it, but less fidelity.
Researchers believe married couples encountered less jealousy because of the sexual exclusivity that goes along with exchanging vows — but also because they were more trusting.
Nevertheless, cohabitors were not less emotionally or physically satisfied than married respondents.
“There may be a set of beliefs that’s protective for married couples in terms of avoiding jealous feelings,” Paik said.
“They’re somewhat insulated because they’re more trusting, and therefore less likely to be suspicious or look for breaches.”
Paik said understanding intimate partner jealousy is important because it could be useful in preventing domestic violence.
“Jealousy is a very powerful emotion,” he said. “In many cases, jealousy or love triangles are the motive for homicide or other violent crimes between intimates.”
The study was published online in the Journal of Sex Research anchored by Professor Paik authored the study with Mariana Gatzeva of the Department of Human Kinetics at the University of British Columbia.
