Jealousy shadows the career woman

PSYCHIATRISTS call it the Othello syndrome because it makes men do the strangest things in pursuit of the ones they love, so that, as Shakespeare said, 'the green-eyed monster doth mock the meat it feeds on'.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists was told yesterday at its annual conference in Dublin that cases of obsessional jealousy in British men have 'shot up' in recent years, particularly among those who fear career wives are using jobs as a cover for infidelity.

The men may hire private detectives, bug telephones, furtively follow partners to work and even inspect their beds and underwear for organic signs left by male strangers, the psychiatrists were told.

Dinesh Bhugra, senior lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, described his latest case of Othello syndrome: a redundant middle-aged man whose wife went out to work. The man secretly followed her each day, hung around her office and frequently rifled her handbag, diary and wardrobe for signs of infidelity. 'Others will secretly hang around the grocer while their wives do the shopping,' Dr Bhugra said.

The rise of the career woman, combined with an increase in unemployment among men, has exacerbated feelings of intense suspicion and jealously that give rise to the Othello syndrome, he added. 'Many are middle-aged, often they have been made redundant or unemployed, and all have lost all sense of self-esteem.'

Although both women and men can experience intense jealously, it is often the man who expresses it openly. 'There is evidence that if men don't have the same hold over women, there is more room for suspicion.'

A study of jealousy in several countries, including polygamous and polyandrous cultures, reinforces that finding, he said. 'People feel much more jealous and vulnerable in societies that have nuclear families, especially if there is an element of economic dependency.

'There is an increased rate of jealously in societies where there is a lot of emphasis on personal possessions, where the emphasis is on sex for pleasure rather than for procreation.'

Dr Bhugra's advice to those who suffer intense jealousy is to seek therapy through their GP. 'Therapy can help to strengthen other parts of the relationship.'