Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Publication Date

Spring 2023

College

Sciences and Mathematics, College of

Department

Psychological Science, Department of

BURS Faculty Advisor

Dr. Patrick Morse

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Abstract

Jealousy, a common and often dreaded emotion, appears to be closely associated with an individual’s self-esteem. In fact, one study connected self-esteem to jealousy and found that adolescents with low self-worth reported the greatest friendship jealousy (Parker et al., 2015). Along with this relationship between self-esteem and jealousy, existing literature finds that self-esteem is closely associated with narcissism. One study found that low self-worth was correlated with high scores in vulnerable narcissism (Kaufman et al., 2020). However, grandiose narcissism was found to be related to high scores of self-esteem (Zeigler-Hill & Besser, 2011). Though previous studies have examined the correlations between narcissism and jealousy in romantic relationships, there is limited literature regarding narcissism and jealousy in friendships (Tortoriello et al., 2017). The following study seeks to address this gap by examining the specific relationships between jealousy in friendships, self-esteem, and the two types of narcissism. Recruited from an online platform, this study used a sample of 39 participants selected from undergraduate Introductory Psychology courses. Participants were asked to complete a Qualtrics survey consisting of five separate assessments: the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, a Friendship Jealousy Questionnaire, and demographics questions. We propose that jealousy will be negatively correlated with self-esteem and positively correlated with vulnerable narcissism. Additionally, we predict that self-esteem will be negatively correlated with vulnerable narcissism and positively correlated with grandiose narcissism. We anticipate our results will reflect these hypotheses after data collection and analysis is complete. In the face of vast literature on romantic jealousy, we hope that this study’s findings will motivate further research on jealousy in friendships. Jealousy is closely intertwined with friendship dynamics; hopefully, by studying how instances of jealousy may increase in the company of high narcissism and low self-esteem, individuals can gain valuable and informed insight towards their own jealous emotions.

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