Non-delusional pathological jealousy as an obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder: Cognitive-behavioural conceptualization and some treatment suggestions

Abstract

Pathological jealousy (PJ) is not defined as a unitary syndrome, but as a symptom of different disorders. After a definition of PJ, diagnostic criteria for PJ subtypes and its differentiation from normal jealousy are discussed. Based on a description of the clinical picture of non-delusional PJ in a functional analysis format, a cognitive-behavioural conceptualization of non-delusional PJ as an obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder (OCSD) is presented. The emphasis is on phenomenological overlap with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), including similarities of jealous intrusions with obsessions, of jealous checking, reassurance seeking and avoidance of jealousy-provoking situations with compulsive rituals and passive avoidance in OCD, and finally of the “illusion of control” in PJ (belief that safeguarding love relationships by control is possible) with magical thinking/superstitious behaviour in OCD. Some treatment suggestions based on an OCSD formulation of non-delusional PJ are outlined.