An analysis of body esteem, trust, and jealousy pathways to relationship satisfaction in women

Previous studies have found that overweight heterosexual women experience less relationship satisfaction than average weight women. Overweight women may have lowered body esteem, feel less trusting towards others, and experience more jealousy in their relationships. Although studies have linked body esteem, trust, and jealousy to relationship satisfaction, few have examined the relationship among all variables. This study investigated various pathways linking body esteem to relationship satisfaction through trust and jealousy. A total of 237 heterosexual women (ages 18 to 43) participated. Path and mediation analyses were used to determine significant direct pathways between body esteem, relationship satisfaction, trust, and jealousy based on the woman's identified ethnicity (Caucasian, Hispanic, African American, or Asian American). The only significant indirect pathway was body esteem to relationship satisfaction through jealousy for Caucasians. The results indicated that women vary based on their ethnicity when examining links between body esteem, trust, jealousy, and relationship satisfaction.