Projective tests show cyclic fluctuations in male partners' jealousy in hormonal contraceptive users
Abstrakt
Women's attractiveness, flirtatious behaviour and extra-pair sexual desire fluctuates across the menstrual cycle, peaking around ovulation. Although male partners have been shown to increase mate-retention behaviour mid-cycle, no research has yet focused on precise measures of male jealousy across their partners' menstrual cycle.
Both partners in 65 long-term couples (27 normally cycling/38 hormonal contraceptive (HC) users as controls) repeatedly completed two stories: one during the ovulatory and one during the luteal phases of their cycle developed as a projective measurement of male jealousy. We used a generalized linear model with repeated measures to test the effect of cycle phase on male jealousy.
There was no significant effect of cycle phase on male jealousy in partners of normally cycling women (based on male and female reports). Contrary to predictions, in partners of HC users, jealousy was significantly higher mid-cycle compared to the luteal phase.
These results indicate that cyclic shifts might occur also in HC users and affect male partner's level of jealousy.