Dating, married, or single.
When researchers categorize young adults by their romantic status, they tend to lump unpartnered individuals into one group. This approach overlooks the diverse experiences of single life.
A study published in Family Relations aims to paint a more detailed picture. It dives into the impact of singlehood on wellbeing, revealing how much valuing romantic relationships can shape happiness.
Method
To challenge the negative view of singlehood, researchers explored how perceptions of relationship importance affect wellbeing.
“A lot of relationship research focuses on the negatives of being single,” said lead author Nicole K. Watkins, Ph.D.
“Given that so many young people are remaining single for longer than previous generations and that many people prioritize goals other than long-term romantic relationships, especially at a younger age, we wanted to dig deeper into different attitudes toward romantic relationships and how that may influence positive aspects of their life.”
The study recruited 909 American participants, aged 18 to 35, who filled out an online survey in December 2019. Their average age was 27, 51% were female, 81% heterosexual, 58% White/non-Hispanic, and 57% in a romantic relationship.
Focusing on positive indicators, wellbeing was assessed in terms of love life satisfaction, general life satisfaction, and flourishing.
Flourishing here refers to the sense of achievement, purpose, and thriving in one’s life. Unlike life satisfaction, which assesses current quality of life, flourishing focuses on behaviors contributing to a fulfilling life. Someone can be satisfied with their life without flourishing.
Relationship importance was measured by how much participants desired or dismissed romantic relationships.
Findings on singlehood and wellbeing
Do you want to be in a relationship? The answer may help predict how happy you are.
As expected by researchers, being single was linked to lower love life satisfaction, general life satisfaction, and flourishing.
However, for those who didn’t place much importance on being in a relationship, the negative impact on their love and general lives was reduced.
Views on relationship importance affected love life satisfaction the most, accounting for 26% of the variance, compared to 7% for general life satisfaction and 5% for flourishing.
We break down the findings below.
Relationship dismissal
Single participants who attributed less importance to relationships were more satisfied with their love and general lives. In contrast, for those in relationships, their feelings about the importance of relationships didn’t significantly affect their love or general life satisfaction.
Relationship desire
To the researchers’ surprise, single young adults who strongly desired a relationship did not report lower wellbeing.
In fact, wanting a relationship was linked to greater love life satisfaction, general life satisfaction, and flourishing. For singles, this desire affected love life satisfaction the most.
Demographic correlations to wellbeing
Gender, education, and employment were associated with different levels of satisfaction and flourishing.
In terms of gender, female respondents had lower love life satisfaction and life satisfaction than males.
College students had lower love life satisfaction, life satisfaction, and flourishing than those who weren’t in college.
Furthermore, those who were unemployed had lower life satisfaction and flourishing than those who were employed.
Rethinking singlehood and wellbeing
Not all young people want to be in a relationship or are unsatisfied with singlehood.
The study found the wellbeing of single participants changed depending on how much they valued having a partner.
Notably, single young adults were less satisfied with their love life, general life, and flourished less than their peers in relationships. Yet, those who didn’t place much importance on having a partner were just as satisfied with their love and general lives.
“This emphasizes the importance of exploring attitudes and beliefs toward relationships, and that singles have different views on how romantic relationships fit in their lives,” said Dr. Watkins.
The study also revealed a surprising result: desire for a romantic relationship was linked to greater flourishing regardless of relationship status.
The authors recommend future research include longitudinal studies. They also encourage examining how ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation affect romantic involvement and wellbeing.
Recognizing the diversity of singlehood can deepen our understanding and help break its stigma.
Featured Image Source: iStock
