Cognitive jealousy mediating adult attachment and romantic relationship satisfaction among emerging adults in Malaysia.

Ong, Rui Tao and Chong, Hong Da and Chan, Sebastian Kian Sheng (2024) Cognitive jealousy mediating adult attachment and romantic relationship satisfaction among emerging adults in Malaysia. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

Jealousy may be a detrimental element in a romantic relationship. Past studies in Malaysia focused on adult attachment styles and marital satisfaction, but lack of research studies associated the topic with the effect of cognitive jealousy especially in emerging adults who are in the stage of forming intimate relationship. Hence, this study investigated the mediating role of cognitive jealousy between insecure attachment styles (anxious and avoidant) and romantic relationship satisfaction among Malaysian emerging adults. Two hundred eighty-three participants aged 18 to 29 (Mean = 22.63, SD = 2.13) were recruited with purposive sampling method. The instruments include the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR), the Multidimensional Jealousy Scale (MJS)- Cognitive Jealousy subscale, and the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS). PROCESS macro-Model 4 with 5000 bootstrap samples was used to analyse the results. The result showed that anxious and avoidant attachment styles predict cognitive jealousy positively. The anxious attachment style and avoidant attachment style also predict romantic relationship satisfaction negatively. Cognitive jealousy is also a negative predictor of romantic relationship satisfaction. For the mediating effect, cognitive jealousy partially mediates the relationship between insecure adult attachment styles (anxious and avoidant) and romantic relationship satisfaction. Based on the result of this study, cognitive jealousy plays a crucial role between the relationship of insecure adult attachment styles and romantic relationship among emerging adults. Insecure attached people will arouse more cognitive jealousy in their intimate relationship and have more behaviours that will affect their relationship satisfaction. This study provides an overview of the role of insecure adult attachment styles and cognitive jealousy in the romantic relationship satisfaction of heterosexual emerging adults in Malaysia. Last but not least, the findings could contribute to addressing the issues of fertility and divorce rate in Malaysia and provide a critical insight for future research and government to develop.

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