Apollinaria V. Chursina

Background. Romantic attachment is reflected in various aspects of dyadic interaction in a couple, since it is a self-reinforcing system of cognitive, emotional and behavioral patterns. Romantic jealousy was shown to be associated with dimensions of attachment insecurity in various studies worldwide.

Objectives. To identify differences in expressions of romantic jealousy based on romantic attachment style. To determine the influence of attachment-related anxiety and attachment-related avoidance on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral jealousy.

Design. The sample comprised 171 heterosexual individuals. The “Experiences in Close Relationships – Revised” questionnaire (ECR-R; Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000; adapted for Russian by Chursina, 2022) and “Multidimensional Jealousy Scale” (MJS; Pfeiffer, & Wong, 1989) were used.

Results. A number of significant differences were identified between insecure and secure attachment styles. Avoidant attachment is characterized by cognitive jealousy, ambivalent attachment is characterized by cognitive and behavioral jealousy, while dismissing attachment showed no significant differences in the manifestations of jealousy in comparison with secure attachment style. Emotional jealousy is equally characteristic of all types. The primacy of romantic attachment in relation to cognitive and behavioral jealousy was also proved.

Conclusion. The experience of jealousy differs among romantic attachment styles. Attachment-related anxiety is a predictor of intrusive thoughts and behavioral manifestations of jealousy, while attachment-related avoidance is less, the greater the manifestation of jealousy behaviors.

Background. There are genetic, social, and interpersonal factors that determine the relationship between mate preferences and parental figures. Attachment theory offers an explanatory principle about the continuity of relationships with the primary caregiver and romantic partner.

Objective. To integrate the cultural-historical and attachment approaches, and to examine the contribution of attachment style to the image of the family, as well as to conceptualize the orienting image of attachment.

Design. 237 heterosexual Russian individuals participated in the study. The Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) Questionnaire and a Semantic Differential Scale were used to assess attachment style, as well as images of self, romantic partner, mother and father, and the family.

Results. Significant differences in the image of the family were found depending on attachment style; however, no differences were found in the image of the parental family. Attachment insecurity dimensions are associated with perceptions of the similarity of image of the mother and the romantic partner image in men and women (both dimensions for women and avoidance for men). Characteristics of the mother and father images predict attachment anxiety in women, while the father image predicts attachment avoidance in men.

Conclusion. The orienting image of attachment was conceptualized as the image of the mother, which is explained by the cultural patterns of upbringing in the Russian sample; however, individual characteristics of parental images act as predictors of attachment insecurity dimensions.