Predicting Facebook jealousy in romantic relationships: Further support for attachment style and trust

Abstract

Previous research has explored the role of individual differences in romantic jealousy. Research suggests that attachment styles predict romantic jealousy, with anxiously attached individuals experiencing high levels of romantic jealousy, whereas avoidant individuals experience less romantic jealousy. The aim of this study was to apply this previous literature to online Facebook jealousy. In a sample of participants in heterosexual romantic relationships (n=124), we found that attachment anxiety was a positive predictor of Facebook jealousy. Furthermore, we find that trust and attachment avoidance negatively predicted Facebook jealousy, in that low trust and low attachment avoidance were associated with higher Facebook jealousy, thus successfully applying previous findings focusing on offline jealousy to online jealousy. The findings of this study extend previous literature by providing further support of the role of attachment styles and trust in Facebook jealousy.