New research on romantic couples has found that individuals with more pronounced borderline personality features are more inclined to experience suspicious jealousy. In turn, This form of jealousy increases their likelihood of engaging in behaviors aimed at retaining their mate, both by providing benefits and inflicting costs. In other words, suspicious jealousy made these individuals both more likely to show affection and support their partner and to criticize, neglect, or abuse him/her. The study was published in Sexes.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterized by a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotions, as well as marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts. Individuals with this disorder may experience intense episodes of anger, depression, and anxiety that can last from a few hours to days.
However, less pronounced levels of psychological features that are the hallmark of this disorder can also be found in individuals not diagnosed with it. These features include difficulty regulating one’s emotions and thoughts, proneness to engage in reckless behavior or have patterns of unstable relationships. These individuals may experience fear of abandonment, persistent feelings of emptiness, frequent mood swings, and inappropriate anger or difficulty controlling anger.
Borderline personality features impact romantic relationships. For example, a pattern of conduct indicative of frantic attempts to prevent rejection or abandonment in a romantic relationship is one of the diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder. These individuals may engage in elaborate activities aimed at retaining a romantic partner, more elaborate than a person without this feature would. Individuals with borderline personality features also find it difficult to understand what others are thinking or feeling, making them more prone to attribute malevolent intents to others. Because of this, it is diffult for them to trust others and makes them more prone to become jealous of their partners.
Study authors Virgil Zeigler-Hill and Jennifer Vonk wanted to examine the relationships between borderline personality features and mate retention behaviors i.e., actions aimed at retaining a mate. They believed that this link might be mediated by jealousy.
The researchers categorized mate retention behaviors into two types: benefit-provisioning and cost-inflicting. Benefit-provisioning behaviors positively affect the partner’s well-being, including expressions of affection, support during tough times, and making the partner happy. These actions are crucial for fostering trust, intimacy, and satisfaction in the relationship, strengthening the bond between partners.
Conversely, cost-inflicting behaviors negatively impact the partner or the relationship through criticism, neglect, dishonesty, or any form of abuse, undermining trust, reducing satisfaction, and potentially leading to the relationship’s downfall if not addressed.
The concept of jealousy explored by the authors encompasses two forms: suspicious and reactive jealousy. Suspicious jealousy is characterized by doubts about a partner’s fidelity without solid evidence, often arising from personal insecurities or fears. Reactive jealousy, in contrast, is triggered by an actual threat to the relationship, such as flirtatious behavior or emotional involvement with another person.
The initial study involved 453 participants recruited through Prolific, 79% of whom were married, with an average age of 43. They were assessed for borderline personality features (using the Five Factor Borderline Inventory – Short Form), jealousy (through the Multidimensional Jealousy Scale), and mate retention behaviors (via the Mate Retention Inventory – Short Form).
The second study comprised 197 romantic couples (394 individuals), who had been in a relationship for an average of 12 years, with 73% being married. They underwent the same assessments as the first study.
Findings from the first study indicated that individuals with pronounced borderline personality features are more susceptible to engaging in cost-inflicting behaviors, such as criticizing, neglecting, or abusing their partner to retain them. They were also more prone to suspicious jealousy. Statistical analyses suggested that borderline personality traits could lead to a higher tendency towards suspicious jealousy, which, in turn, makes an individual more likely to engage in both benefit-provisioning and cost-inflicting behaviors.
The second study’s results confirmed the relationship between borderline personality features, jealousy, and mate retention behaviors. However, gender-specific analysis revealed that both types of jealousy mediated the relationship between borderline personality traits and mate retention behaviors in females, whereas in males, the relationship was mediated solely by suspicious jealousy, alongside a direct link between borderline personality traits and cost-inflicting behaviors.
“We have shown that BPF [borderline personality features] are associated with suspicious jealousy and that this jealousy may mediate the associations that BPF have with both benefit-provisioning and cost-inflicting behaviors in romantic relationships. Suspicious jealousy is often problematic for romantic relationships and may stem from a poor understanding of others’ mental states and motives that is compounded by a tendency to misattribute malevolent intentions to others, which characterizes individuals high in BPF,” the study authors concluded.
The study sheds light on the links between borderline personality features and behavior in romantic relationship. However, the study solely relied on online samples and self-reports. Studies based on observational data might not yield equal results.
The paper “Borderline Personality Features and Mate Retention Behaviors: The Mediating Roles of Suspicious and Reactive Jealousy“ was authored by Virgil Zeigler-Hill and Jennifer Vonk.
