Adult Attachment, Trust, and Jealousy as Predictors of Relationship Satisfaction among Young Adults

Description

Soumya Nayak and Ravi K. Agrahara (Department of Psychology, Surana Collage Autonomous PG Department Kengeri, Bangalore, Karnataka)

In young adulthood, romantic relationships are cosiderded critical in shaping the following: emotional growth, how people connect to others (interpersonal adjustment), and individual mental health (psychological well-being). The current study examined how attachment types, trust, and jealousy affect young adult relationship quality. A quantitative correlational design was employed in conducting this study. Participants were 100 single young adults (ages 18-30) currently involved in heterosexual romantic relationships. These participants were selected using purposive sampling methods. The study measures assessed participants’ experience with attachment-related anxiety and avoidance, trust, jealousy, and relationship quality. Results suggested that insecure attachment types (e.g., Avoidant or anxious) are correlated with low trust and low quality of relationships. Additionally, high levels of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance are positively correlated to cognitive, emotional, and behavioural jealousy. A strong positive relationship existed between trust and satisfaction; jealousy is strongly related negatively to satisfaction. Finally, regression analysis indicated that trust significantly predicts relationship quality, while behavioural jealousy negatively predicts it. No differences between genders were evident across the various measures administered in this study. This study also shows the importance of emotional security and trust for establishing and maintaining satisfying romantic relationships among young adults. These findings may be useful for counselling professionals working with relationship difficulties, emotional insecurity, and maladaptive jealousy patterns among emerging adults.