Background Research

Buunk (1982) found that communication is positively related to marital satisfaction whereas avoidance is negatively related to it.
Janice L. Francis (1977) reached a similar conclusion when she identified the development of communication skills as the appropriate treatment mode for sexual jealousy.

Peter Salovey and Judith Rodin (1985) found that selective ignoring, defined as simply deciding that the desired object is not that important, is a coping strategy used by some. This is evidence that some people cope with jealousy by devaluing their relationship.

Many studies of jealousy do not investigate the extreme techniques of coping with jealousy such as the use of physical force or homicide, however studies of family violence leave little doubt that they occur frequently: Martin Daly, Margo Wilson, and Suzanne Weghorst (1982) reviewed several studies of spousal homicide that used data beyond those found in police files and concluded that male sexual jealousy may be a major source of conflict in an overwhelming majority of spousal homicides in North America.

Background Research: Buunk

Buunk (1982) examined the ways people cope with their spouses' extramarital relationships and identified three strategies:
Avoidance (of the spouse),
e.g. possibility of leaving the spouse and retreating
Reappraisal (of the situation),
e.g. cognitive attempts to reduce one's jealousy which may include developing a critical attitude toward one's own jealousy as well as direct attempts to get the jealousy under control by relativizing the whole situation.
Communication,
This is the most common strategy and can reduce jealousy if it results in a redefinition of the relationship or a changed perception of the partner's behaviour.


**Alot of psychologists have talked about affairs and jealousy within marriage, however I would like to investigate jealousy within different relationships such as between siblings, friendships, and relationships among the younger population.**