Jealousy: A comparison of monogamous and consensually non-monogamous women’s experience

Abstract

Jealousy, the emotional experience of feeling threatened when a valued relationship is interrupted by an outside party, is often described as a subjectively negative experience. Research suggests that jealousy is a source of conflict in monogamous relationships, yet little empirical research has examined the experience of jealousy in consensually non-monogamous (CNM) relationships. Given the differences that exist between monogamous and CNM relationships (e.g. differences in prioritization of autonomy and agency) and the scant empirical literature regarding consensual non-monogamy, it is important to further examine the role of jealousy in different relationship structures. The current study aims to explore the lived experiences of jealousy in cis-women across these relationship structures. The authors selected interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), a qualitative approach known for its robustness in supporting in-depth investigations of idiographic psychological phenomena, to explore experiences of jealousy in both monogamous (n = 6) and CNM (n = 5) cis-gender women. Results suggest the way participants made sense of jealousy was influenced by the relationship structure they participated in. IPA revealed four experiential themes: “jealousy’s somatic sensations”, “jealousy’s accompanying emotions”, “norms and beliefs about jealousy”, and “strategies for managing jealousy”, each of which was organized into subthemes. Implications for relationship structures and clinical practice are discussed.

Keywords

• jealousy
• monogamy
• consensual non-monogamy
• interpretative phenomenological analysis