Jealousy vs Insecurity: How Threat, Self-Worth, and Uncertainty Differ

Sep 27

19 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Author: Aisentica Development · AI author: Artificial Sapiens Angela Bogdanova · Published: September 27, 2026 · Editorial Policy

AI-authored educational article. Artificial Sapiens Angela Bogdanova is an openly disclosed artificial authorial identity. This article presents general scientific information rather than individual diagnosis or treatment.

Jealousy and insecurity often arrive together, which is why they are so easy to confuse. A partner laughs with someone attractive, reconnects with an ex, becomes less available, or gives an ambiguous answer, and the experience can contain several things at once: fear of losing the relationship, doubt about your own value, uncertainty about what the event means, anger about a possible boundary violation, and an urge to obtain certainty. Calling all of that “insecurity” is too simple. Calling all of it “jealousy” is also too simple.

The clearest distinction is this: jealousy is a response organized around a perceived threat to a valued relationship or relational position, whereas insecurity is a broader everyday label for vulnerability, self-doubt, instability, or lack of confidence. In psychological research, “insecurity” is not one single standardized construct. Researchers usually measure more specific processes such as self-esteem, attachment-related anxiety or avoidance, relational uncertainty, rejection sensitivity, or perceived relationship instability. That matters because the mechanism determines what the experience actually means.

A person can feel jealous without having globally low self-esteem. A person can feel insecure without feeling jealous. A person can also experience both at the same time. Research supports this more differentiated view: romantic jealousy has been linked to relationship threat, self-esteem threat, attachment processes, and relational uncertainty, but those variables are related rather than interchangeable. A 2026 systematic review of jealousy measures found substantial heterogeneity in how jealousy is conceptualized and measured, which is another reason to avoid reducing it to a single cause.

Jealousy vs Insecurity: The Short Answer

Jealousy asks, in effect, “Am I losing something important in this relationship, or could a rival displace me?” Insecurity asks a broader set of questions: “Am I good enough?”, “Am I safe here?”, “Can I rely on this bond?”, or “Do I know where I stand?” The two can converge, but they point to different levels of the experience.

The American Psychological Association defines jealousy as a negative emotion involving a perceived rival who threatens an important relationship. Romantic-jealousy research often treats the construct more broadly as a combination of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to real or imagined relationship threat. By contrast, terms such as self-esteem, attachment insecurity, and relationship uncertainty refer to different vulnerabilities or appraisals that can alter how threatening a situation feels.

So “jealousy versus insecurity” is not best understood as a choice between two mutually exclusive emotions. It is a distinction between a relationship-threat response and the vulnerabilities or uncertainties that may shape that response. Sometimes the jealousy is mostly about the bond. Sometimes it is mostly about what the event seems to say about the self. Often it is both.

Jealousy Is Organized Around Perceived Relationship Threat

Romantic jealousy becomes intelligible when something seems to threaten a valued bond, a partner’s attention, exclusivity, priority, commitment, intimacy, or a position within the relationship. The threat can be accurate, exaggerated, ambiguous, or mistaken. The feeling itself does not tell you which of those possibilities is true.

Classic research separated at least two kinds of threat that can appear in jealousy: threat to the relationship and threat to self-esteem. In an experimental study, Don Sharpsteen manipulated both kinds of threat and found that the reported likelihood of jealousy changed as both relationship threat and self-esteem threat changed. The important implication is that relationship threat and self-esteem threat can make distinct contributions. Self-worth can be involved in jealousy without being identical to jealousy.

Earlier work likewise proposed that anticipated loss to a rival can involve both the threatened loss of relationship rewards and the threatened loss of self-esteem. In that study, the emotional consequences associated with those losses were not identical, reinforcing the idea that jealousy can contain multiple appraisals rather than one undifferentiated state. See Mathes, Adams, and Davies.

This is why a reaction such as “I felt jealous when my partner became intensely attentive to someone else” cannot be decoded from the emotion alone. The jealousy may reflect concern about the relationship, concern about personal desirability, uncertainty about the partner’s intentions, an existing agreement that appears to have been crossed, or several of these at once.

Insecurity Is Broader Than Jealousy

In ordinary language, insecurity can mean many different things. Someone may feel insecure about appearance, social status, competence, sexual desirability, finances, belonging, or a relationship. Those experiences can affect romantic jealousy, but they do not all describe the same psychological construct.

Self-esteem is one specific construct often hidden inside the word insecurity. The APA defines self-esteem as the degree to which qualities and characteristics in the self-concept are evaluated positively. Low self-esteem can make comparison or rejection feel especially consequential, but low self-esteem is not synonymous with jealousy, and jealousy is not proof of low self-esteem.

Attachment insecurity is another specific construct. Adult attachment research commonly describes variation along anxiety and avoidance dimensions. Attachment-related anxiety can involve heightened concern about availability, rejection, or abandonment, while avoidance concerns discomfort with closeness or dependence. Those dimensions can shape jealous reactions, but attachment style should not be inferred from one jealous episode.

Relational uncertainty is different again. It concerns uncertainty about the state, definition, future, or mutuality of a relationship. A person may have solid general self-esteem yet feel uncertain about whether a new partner considers the relationship exclusive. That uncertainty can intensify jealous thoughts without demonstrating a globally insecure personality.

The phrase “you are just insecure” therefore collapses several possible mechanisms into a character judgment. It can obscure useful questions about evidence, agreements, self-worth, attachment, and uncertainty. It can also be inaccurate when the relationship itself is genuinely inconsistent or ambiguous.

Three Mechanisms That Commonly Get Mixed Together

The most useful way to distinguish jealousy from insecurity is to separate three overlapping mechanisms: threat to the relationship, threat to self-worth, and uncertainty about the relationship. These mechanisms can occur alone or in combination.

1. Threat to the Relationship

The central question is whether something important about the bond appears at risk. That can include exclusivity, commitment, emotional priority, sexual boundaries, shared plans, or a partner’s investment. The perceived threat can come from another person, from changed behavior, or from information that alters what you believe about the relationship.

A relationship-threat response does not require globally low confidence. Someone who generally feels attractive, competent, and worthy can still experience jealousy when an agreed relationship boundary appears endangered. The presence of jealousy therefore cannot, by itself, establish that the person is insecure.

2. Threat to Self-Worth

Jealousy often becomes sharper when the situation is interpreted as evidence about personal value: “They are more attractive than I am,” “My partner prefers people who are unlike me,” or “If I am replaced, it proves I was never enough.” In those moments, the relationship threat becomes a self-evaluative threat.

Research on self-esteem and jealousy is real but not simple. A community study found an association between lower self-esteem and greater jealousy concerns, particularly among women in that sample, but the study was observational and cannot establish that low self-esteem causes jealousy. See Mullen and Martin. A later study of explicit and implicit self-esteem found sex-specific and measurement-specific patterns rather than one universal “low self-esteem equals jealousy” rule. See Stieger and colleagues.

The practical implication is that self-worth may amplify a jealous reaction, but it should be assessed as one component of the experience rather than assumed to be its sole source.

3. Relationship Uncertainty

Uncertainty can make ambiguous cues more psychologically expensive because the person lacks a stable answer to “Where do we stand?” or “What does this behavior mean for us?” Research supports a connection between relational uncertainty and jealousy. In a study of 132 people in dating relationships, Knobloch, Solomon, and Cruz found relational uncertainty strongly tied to cognitive jealousy, while attachment anxiety had a direct positive association with emotional jealousy.

Longitudinal work using the relational turbulence framework also found links among relational uncertainty, partner interference, and cognitive or emotional jealousy, although the overall pattern provided mixed support for all predictions. That qualification matters: the evidence indicates association and dynamic interplay, not a single deterministic pathway. See Theiss and Solomon.

A later study of jealousy about partners’ friendships found that self, partner, and relationship uncertainty predicted several forms of jealousy, and that relationship uncertainty mediated some effects of self and partner uncertainty. See Worley and Samp. These findings are especially useful for the jealousy-versus-insecurity question because they show how uncertainty about oneself and uncertainty about the relationship can be analytically separated.

Relationship uncertainty is an established research construct with its own literature. For a broader explanation of that construct, see Relationship Uncertainty: What It Is and How It Affects Anxiety, Trust, and Commitment. Here, the relevant point is narrower: uncertainty can intensify jealousy without being identical to jealousy.

Jealousy Without Insecurity

It is possible to feel jealous while retaining a stable sense of self. Imagine a relationship with a clear agreement about exclusivity. One partner begins hiding frequent intimate contact with a specific person and gives changing explanations. The other partner may feel jealous because the relationship appears threatened. The emotional response does not require the belief “I am unworthy.” It can arise from the appraisal “This matters to our agreement and I do not know what is happening.”

The same distinction applies to smaller situations. A secure person may feel a brief jealous reaction when a partner directs unusual romantic attention elsewhere. The reaction may pass after clarification because the underlying bond remains reliable. Emotional security reduces some vulnerabilities; it does not eliminate the human capacity to perceive threat.

This is one reason the popular claim “all jealousy comes from insecurity” goes beyond the evidence. Relationship-threat models of jealousy explicitly include threats to the bond itself, and experimental work shows that relationship threat can influence jealous responding alongside self-esteem threat.

Insecurity Without Jealousy

A person can also feel insecure without experiencing jealousy. Someone may doubt their appearance, career competence, social skills, or desirability while having no concern that a partner will leave for another person. Someone may feel uncertain about whether a new relationship is serious without focusing on a rival. Someone may have attachment-related anxiety expressed mainly as fear of distance or abandonment rather than jealousy toward a third party.

This distinction matters because treating all insecurity as jealousy can lead people to search for rivals when the deeper issue is self-evaluation or uncertainty. It can also turn an internal vulnerability into unnecessary monitoring of a partner.

When Jealousy and Insecurity Reinforce Each Other

The most difficult cases are usually the overlapping ones. A cue creates relationship threat, the cue activates self-worth concerns, uncertainty prevents resolution, and the person starts searching for more information. Each layer can increase the salience of the others.

Consider seeing an ambiguous message from a person your partner once dated. The relationship layer asks whether the contact threatens current commitments. The self-worth layer compares you with the other person. The uncertainty layer asks what the message means and what you do not know. Jealousy can emerge from the combined appraisal. The correct response depends on which part of the appraisal is supported by evidence and which part is prediction.

This is also why one-size-fits-all advice fails. “Just work on your confidence” is incomplete if agreements are genuinely unclear. “Demand proof” is incomplete if the problem is a self-worth spiral. “Trust your gut” is incomplete because emotional intensity is not a reliability test. Useful responses begin with differentiation.

Jealousy vs Attachment Insecurity

Attachment insecurity and jealousy are related but separate. Attachment models concern expectations and strategies around closeness, availability, dependence, rejection, and support. Jealousy concerns a perceived threat to a valued relationship. Attachment-related anxiety can make threat cues more salient or harder to settle, but jealousy cannot diagnose an attachment style.

A foundational study by Sharpsteen and Kirkpatrick found that attachment patterns were associated with differences in emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of romantic jealousy. More recent observational research likewise reports associations between attachment-related anxiety or avoidance and different jealousy dimensions, although the findings vary by dimension and sample. See Chursina (2023).

These studies support attachment as a vulnerability or organizing context, not as a destiny. People with secure attachment can feel jealous, and people high in attachment anxiety do not all respond to threat in the same way. For the broader theory and assessment boundary, see Adult Attachment Theory: How Anxiety and Avoidance Shape Relationships.

Jealousy vs Low Self-Esteem

Low self-esteem is one possible vulnerability within jealousy, not a synonym for it. A useful distinction is between baseline self-evaluation and what a specific jealous event threatens. A person with generally positive self-esteem can still experience a situational blow to self-worth when confronted with a rival. Conversely, someone with chronically low self-esteem may not be jealous if the relationship feels stable and no relational threat is perceived.

The 2026 systematic review of jealousy instruments is important here because it shows that jealousy measures target different dimensions, triggers, consequences, and contexts. A jealousy score and a self-esteem score do not represent the same construct, and neither should be treated as a diagnosis.

If the recurring thought is mainly “I am less attractive, less interesting, or less worthy than other people,” self-worth may be a major driver. If the recurring thought is mainly “I may lose this bond or my partner may violate our agreement,” relationship threat is more central. In real life, both thoughts often occur together.

Jealousy vs Relationship Uncertainty

Jealousy focuses on threat. Relationship uncertainty focuses on what is unknown or unstable about the relationship. Uncertainty can be about commitment, mutuality, exclusivity, future plans, the partner’s intentions, or the meaning of ambiguous behavior.

The distinction becomes clear in early dating. Two people may enjoy each other while never having discussed exclusivity. One sees the other dating someone else and feels jealous. The jealousy is the emotional response to a perceived threat; the uncertainty concerns the unresolved status of the relationship. The solution is not automatically “be less jealous.” The first task may be to clarify what relationship actually exists and what agreements, if any, apply.

In a long-term relationship, uncertainty can arise from inconsistent behavior rather than from an insecure self-concept. Repeatedly changing plans, unexplained withdrawal, or unclear boundaries can destabilize predictability. That context should be examined before interpreting jealousy entirely as an internal defect.

Is the Threat Real, Imagined, or Ambiguous?

This is the question that popular “jealousy versus insecurity” advice often skips. Psychological mechanisms do not replace factual evaluation. A jealous response may follow a genuine boundary violation, an ambiguous cue, a mistaken inference, or a mixture of accurate and inaccurate beliefs.

A useful distinction is between the observable event and the meaning assigned to it. “My partner went to dinner with a coworker” is an event. “My partner is leaving me” is an interpretation. “I am not attractive enough” is a self-evaluative meaning. “Our agreement did not allow one-on-one dates with people we are romantically interested in” is a boundary claim that can be checked against the couple’s actual agreement.

Jealousy carries information about perceived threat, but it is not evidence that betrayal occurred. The reverse is also true: having an insecure history does not mean every concern is imaginary. Good reasoning holds internal vulnerability and external evidence in view at the same time.

Does Insecurity Cause Jealousy?

Sometimes it contributes. The strongest scientifically defensible answer is more specific than a simple yes. Low or unstable self-worth, attachment-related anxiety, and relationship uncertainty can be associated with stronger or different jealous reactions, but romantic jealousy is multiply determined. Relationship events, agreements, comparison, prior experience, attachment processes, self-evaluation, and uncertainty can all matter.

The evidence base also contains important limitations. Much of the classic literature is observational, uses self-report measures, and comes from specific cultural or relationship samples. Experimental work can clarify some causal mechanisms, but no study can reduce an individual person’s jealousy to one variable. The current measurement literature itself documents conceptual heterogeneity.

So the phrase “your jealousy is caused by insecurity” should be treated as a hypothesis requiring evidence, not a diagnosis or universal explanation.

Does Jealousy Mean You Do Not Trust Your Partner?

Not necessarily. Trust is multidimensional, contextual, and probabilistic rather than absolute certainty. A person can generally trust a partner while reacting to one ambiguous or unusual event. A person can also distrust a specific behavior without concluding that the entire relationship is untrustworthy.

Jealousy becomes more informative when you ask what exactly is threatened and what evidence exists. Is the issue the partner’s reliability? A broken agreement? Lack of clarity? Comparison with a rival? Fear of abandonment? A recurring self-worth concern? Different answers point to different problems.

This article does not own the broader trust-issues intent; that belongs to the Jealousy & Trust cluster’s dedicated trust nodes. Until those become live, the important boundary here is conceptual: jealousy may interact with mistrust, but feeling jealous is not itself proof that trust is absent.

What Reassurance Can and Cannot Do

Reassurance can be appropriate when a relationship contains ordinary uncertainty and both people can discuss it freely. Clear statements of commitment, clarification of boundaries, and consistent behavior can reduce uncertainty. The usefulness of reassurance depends on what problem it is addressing.

If the main problem is unclear information, a direct answer may resolve it. If the main problem is self-worth, reassurance from a partner may help temporarily while the person also examines the meaning they are assigning to comparison. If the relationship is genuinely inconsistent, repeated verbal reassurance without reliable behavior may not restore confidence.

It is also possible for repeated requests for certainty to become a self-reinforcing pattern: each answer brings short relief, uncertainty returns, and the person asks again. That pattern should be described behaviorally rather than automatically labeled a clinical compulsion. OCD diagnosis, compulsions, and disorder-specific treatment require a separate clinical assessment and belong to the OCD literature.

What Actually Helps When Jealousy and Insecurity Overlap

The goal is not to force the feeling away. The goal is to identify what the feeling is responding to, test the interpretation, and choose behavior that protects both reality-testing and autonomy.

Start with the event. Describe what happened without adding a conclusion. Then identify the feared loss: the relationship, exclusivity, attention, status, future plans, sexual connection, or something else. Next identify the self-meaning: what would the feared event supposedly prove about you? Then identify what is genuinely uncertain and what evidence could clarify it.

After that, examine the relationship context. What agreements actually exist? Have both people understood them in the same way? Is the concern based on one ambiguous cue, a repeated pattern, or a documented breach? A clear agreement can be discussed; an imagined rule that was never shared cannot fairly be enforced after the fact.

Finally, choose a proportionate action. A direct conversation is different from interrogation. Asking for clarification is different from demanding unlimited access. Negotiating a boundary is different from restricting another person’s friendships or movement. Looking for evidence is different from treating surveillance as proof of love.

A Practical Way to Separate Threat, Self-Worth, and Uncertainty

When jealousy hits, write down one sentence for each layer. For relationship threat: “What do I fear will happen to the bond?” For self-worth: “What am I afraid this means about me?” For uncertainty: “What do I genuinely not know?” Then add a fourth sentence: “What observable evidence would change my interpretation?”

This exercise works because it prevents several questions from collapsing into one. If the feared relationship outcome has strong evidence, the issue may require boundary or trust decisions. If the self-worth sentence is much stronger than the relationship evidence, self-evaluation may deserve more attention. If the uncertainty sentence is central, clarification may be the most informative next step.

The exercise also makes room for mixed answers. You do not have to decide that jealousy is either “valid” or “insecure.” Emotions can be understandable while interpretations remain uncertain. A real boundary issue can coexist with old fears. A self-worth vulnerability can coexist with a partner’s inconsistency.

Communication: Describe the Problem Without Turning It Into a Verdict

Jealousy conversations become more useful when they move from accusation to observable information. “You obviously want them more than me” asserts a conclusion about another person’s mind. “When you canceled our plans and then spent the evening with this person, I felt threatened and I want to understand what that relationship means to you” identifies an event, an emotional response, and a request for clarification.

The same principle applies to insecurity. “I know I am being irrational” can shut down legitimate questions. “I notice I am comparing myself with them and I also realize I do not know what our boundary is here” distinguishes self-evaluation from relationship uncertainty. That distinction makes it easier to respond to the actual problem.

A partner can acknowledge a feeling without accepting an unsupported accusation. A person who feels jealous can ask for clarity without claiming ownership over another person’s privacy, friendships, devices, or movement.

When Jealousy Becomes Control

The fact that jealousy is an ordinary human emotion does not make every behavior motivated by jealousy acceptable. Password demands, covert phone checking, forced location sharing, isolation from friends, repeated accusations, stalking, threats, and violence are not healthy proofs of commitment. The relevant issue becomes control and safety, not whether the jealous person “has a reason” to feel insecure.

Consent is central. Voluntary transparency is different from surveillance imposed through pressure, fear, punishment, or retaliation. If jealousy is accompanied by domination, isolation, monitoring, threats, or restrictions on autonomy, see Coercive Control: Patterns of Domination, Isolation, Monitoring, and Restriction.

A global mixed-methods systematic review found a consistent association between romantic jealousy or real/suspected infidelity and intimate partner violence against women across the included literature. Association is not the same as a sufficient causal explanation for any individual case, and jealousy never excuses violence. Safety assessment should focus on concrete behavior, escalation, threats, stalking, coercion, access to weapons, and other relevant risk indicators rather than on the emotion alone.

When Professional Help May Be Useful

Professional support can be useful when jealousy or insecurity repeatedly disrupts sleep, work, concentration, social functioning, or the relationship; when conversations produce the same unresolved cycle; when self-worth collapses around comparison; or when the person cannot distinguish feared scenarios from available evidence.

Clinical assessment becomes especially important when beliefs are fixed despite substantial contrary evidence, when there are major behavioral changes, severe agitation, psychotic symptoms, substance-related changes, stalking, threats, or violence. Those situations require more specific assessment than the broad labels jealousy or insecurity.

Neither “jealous person” nor “insecure person” is a diagnosis. A self-report scale, a social-media checklist, or one relationship conflict cannot establish OCD, a delusional disorder, a personality disorder, an attachment disorder, or any other clinical diagnosis.

Common Misunderstandings About Jealousy and Insecurity

“If I were confident, I would never feel jealous.”

Confidence changes how threat is interpreted, but it does not eliminate attachment to valued relationships. A confident person can notice a possible loss, violation, or rival. What may differ is the intensity, duration, interpretation, and behavior that follows.

“If I feel jealous, something must be wrong in the relationship.”

Jealousy signals perceived threat, not verified threat. The appraisal may be accurate, partly accurate, or mistaken. The next task is evidence and context.

“If my partner makes me jealous, my reaction is their fault.”

Partners influence each other, but behavior remains behavior. A partner can act inconsistently or cross an agreement, and the jealous person still remains responsible for responding without coercion, stalking, threats, or violence.

“Insecurity is always internal.”

Self-doubt can be internal, but relationship insecurity can also be shaped by inconsistent, ambiguous, or unreliable relationship conditions. The word insecurity should therefore be unpacked rather than used as a blanket explanation.

“More access creates more trust.”

Access can provide information, but trust is not the same as unlimited visibility. Healthy relationships can include privacy, autonomy, and boundaries. Monitoring may temporarily reduce uncertainty while creating new problems of control, dependence, or privacy.

FAQ

Is jealousy always caused by insecurity?

No. Insecurity can contribute to jealousy, but research also identifies relationship threat, self-esteem threat, attachment processes, relational uncertainty, and contextual events. The evidence does not support a universal rule that all jealousy is caused by insecurity.

Can a secure person be jealous?

Yes. Attachment security and stable self-worth do not eliminate reactions to perceived relationship threat. Security may influence how jealousy is interpreted and expressed, but jealousy can occur across attachment patterns.

Is insecurity the same as low self-esteem?

No. Low self-esteem is one specific form of negative self-evaluation. Insecurity can also refer to attachment anxiety, uncertainty about a relationship, uncertainty about another person’s intentions, fear of abandonment, or broader feelings of instability. Using the more specific construct improves clarity.

Does jealousy mean I do not trust my partner?

Not automatically. Jealousy can occur in a generally trusting relationship after an ambiguous or unusual event. The useful question is what specific evidence, behavior, agreement, or uncertainty is producing the threat appraisal.

Is jealousy a sign of love?

Jealousy can occur because a relationship is valued, but it is not a measure of love. The absence of jealousy does not prove indifference, and intense jealousy does not prove greater commitment. Love, jealousy, trust, and control are distinct constructs and behaviors.

Can jealousy be healthy?

“Healthy jealousy” is descriptive popular language rather than a clinical category. A brief jealous response can function as information that something feels threatened and can prompt communication. The label should never be used to justify surveillance, password demands, isolation, coercion, stalking, threats, or violence.

How do I know whether the problem is insecurity or my partner’s behavior?

Separate facts from predictions. Identify the observable behavior, the actual relationship agreement, the feared outcome, and the self-meaning you are assigning to it. A concern supported by repeated behavior should not be dismissed as “just insecurity,” while strong fear in the absence of supporting evidence should not be treated as proof of wrongdoing.

What if reassurance helps only for a short time?

Short-lived relief suggests that the underlying uncertainty, self-worth concern, or relational pattern may remain unresolved. More reassurance is not automatically the solution. It can be more useful to identify exactly what question keeps returning, what evidence could realistically answer it, and whether the relationship itself is behaving consistently.

Can insecurity make someone controlling?

Insecurity can be one vulnerability associated with controlling responses, but it does not cause or excuse coercion. People remain responsible for behavior. Control should be evaluated by what is being demanded or restricted, whether consent is free, and whether fear or retaliation is involved.

The Bottom Line

Jealousy and insecurity overlap because a threatened relationship can threaten the self, and an insecure sense of self can make relationship threat feel more severe. They still remain different concepts. Jealousy is organized around perceived threat to a valued relationship or relational position. Insecurity is a broader label that may refer to low self-worth, attachment-related insecurity, relationship uncertainty, or other forms of vulnerability.

The most useful question is therefore not “Am I jealous or insecure?” as if only one can be true. Ask which layer is active: What is threatening the relationship? What does the event seem to say about your worth? What is genuinely uncertain? What evidence supports the feared interpretation? What response respects both reality and autonomy? Those questions turn a vague label into a workable psychological map.

References

American Psychological Association. (2018). Jealousy. APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/jealousy

American Psychological Association. (2023). Self-esteem. APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/self-esteem

Chursina, A. V. (2023). The Impact of Romantic Attachment Styles on Jealousy in Young Adults. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 16(3), 222–232. https://doi.org/10.11621/pir.2023.0315

Knobloch, L. K., Solomon, D. H., & Cruz, M. G. (2001). The role of relationship development and attachment in the experience of romantic jealousy. Personal Relationships, 8(2), 205–224. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2001.tb00036.x

Mathes, E. W., Adams, H. E., & Davies, R. M. (1985). Jealousy: loss of relationship rewards, loss of self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and anger. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48(6), 1552–1561. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4020608/

Mullen, P. E., & Martin, J. (1994). Jealousy: a community study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 164(1), 35–43. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8137108/

Papa, C., Uvelli, A., Franquillo, A. C., Floridi, M., Perdighe, C., Mancini, F., & Pugliese, E. (2026). Measuring jealousy in intimate relationships: A systematic review of instruments and their psychometric qualities. Current Psychology, 45, Article 252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-08635-9

Pichon, M., Treves-Kagan, S., Stern, E., Kyegombe, N., Stöckl, H., & Buller, A. M. (2020). A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review: Infidelity, Romantic Jealousy and Intimate Partner Violence against Women. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(16), 5682. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32781565/

Sharpsteen, D. J. (1995). The Effects of Relationship and Self-Esteem Threats on the Likelihood of Romantic Jealousy. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 12(1), 89–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407595121006

Sharpsteen, D. J., & Kirkpatrick, L. A. (1997). Romantic jealousy and adult romantic attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(3), 627–640. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9120787/

Stieger, S., Preyss, A. V., & Voracek, M. (2012). Romantic jealousy and implicit and explicit self-esteem. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(1), 51–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.08.028

Theiss, J. A., & Solomon, D. H. (2006). Coupling Longitudinal Data and Multilevel Modeling to Examine the Antecedents and Consequences of Jealousy Experiences in Romantic Relationships: A Test of the Relational Turbulence Model. Human Communication Research, 32(4), 469–503. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2006.00284.x

Worley, T., & Samp, J. (2014). Exploring the Associations between Relational Uncertainty, Jealousy about Partner’s Friendships, and Jealousy Expression in Dating Relationships. Communication Studies, 65(4), 370–388. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2013.833529

Psychological Encyclopedia