Jealousy and Romantic Attachment in Maritally Violent and Nonviolent Men

This study investigated whether maritally violent males are more jealous than maritally nonviolent males. The subjects were 180 cohabiting men divided into four groups selected on dimensions of marital violence, marital satisfaction, and amount of counseling. Multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs) revealed significantly elevated jealousy levels in the two abusive groups and also in the unsatisfactorily married, nonviolent group. Indeed, jealousy correlated negatively with marital satisfaction level. Although jealousy seems not to be the primary precipitant of battering, it may interact with other variables, such as emotional dependence, to increase the likelihood of marital abuse.