Coping or Thriving? Reviewing Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Societal Factors Associated With Well-Being in Singlehood From a Within-Group Perspective

Abstract

Singlehood, defined as not being in a romantic relationship, is becoming increasingly common worldwide. Despite this, research on singlehood has not received remotely equivalent research attention as romantic relationships. Well-being research that has explicitly included singles has focused on whether coupled versus single people are more satisfied with their lives. However, these between-group comparisons have not attended to within-group variability among singles that can point to when and for whom singlehood is associated with thriving. In this review, we document findings from the emerging field of singlehood studies to highlight what is and is not known about factors that are associated with the well-being of single individuals from a within-group perspective. Our review examines (a) intrapersonal factors (characteristics of the individual), (b) interpersonal experiences (qualities of one’s social relationships and experiences), and (c) societal influences (features related to one’s broader social or cultural context) related to well-being in singlehood. We conclude by offering future directions for the conceptualization of and research on singlehood with the goal of promoting a thorough and inclusive perspective.

Intersectionality in studying and theorizing singlehood

“…Most previous studies focused on why people are single and how it affects them (e.g., Coontz, 2016; Gallagher & Waite, 2000; Gibson‐Davis et al, 2005; Illouz, 2007, 2012). Yet singlehood is becoming a social category in and of itself (DePaulo, 2015; Girme et al, 2022; Kislev, 2019; Marsh, 2023). Research began recognizing this by defining singlehood as possibly subject to choice, thus entailing the propensity to involve identity work, whether that means having a feeling of group membership or developing a set of behavioral and cognitive schemes that correspond with this choice, as will be presented below.…”

“…Several recent studies suggested that although far from perfect, the most practical measure of singlehood being identity is low levels of wanting a partner (Kislev, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b; Park et al, 2021; Slonim et al, 2015). This measure was studied in relation to other life components, such as sexuality, work, well‐being, and sociability, and there is increasing evidence that singles who have a low desire for relationships are developing their own social and psychological constructions (Girme et al, 2022; Stryker & Burke, 2000; Swann Jr et al, 2012). This aligns with the social constructionist approach to identity (Berger et al, 1966; Goffman, 1959).…”

“…While there is a growing body of research on singlehood (e.g., Apostolou, 2017; Apostolou & Tsangari, 2022; Girme et al, 2022; Kislev, 2019), this scholarship still often lacks an intersectional approach, with few exceptions (Barnes, 2015; Clarke, 2011; Marsh, 2023; Ochnik & Slonim, 2020). One reason for the clarion call to incorporate an intersectional framework is that the social identity of singlehood annexes a set of behavioral and cognitive schemes that might look different for Asian, Black, LGBTQ+, ethnic, and other groups, versus the dominant group (Rios & Cohen, 2023).…”

What social lives do single people want? A person-centered approach to identifying profiles of social motives among singles.

“…Social experiences are an important element of people’s lives in general (Feeney & Collins, 2014), and as such should be expected to be an important element of satisfying single lives. Indeed, research has suggested that single individuals who are satisfied with their social relationships tend to feel better about themselves and their lives (Fisher et al, 2021; Girme et al, in press; Park et al, 2021). Importantly, social relationships can play a variety of roles in an individual’s life and the desire to approach or avoid social experiences can involve a variety of specific motivations.…”

Attachment security and how to get it

“…For example, a new relationship might bring insecurity in a way that was not present in someone's life when they were single (and a divorce might bring comfort). Being a long‐term single (someone who “misses” relationship events) also does not doom someone to a life of attachment insecurity (Brumbaugh, 2017; Girme et al., 2022; Oh et al., 2022; Pepping et al., 2018). Altogether, researchers are currently building taxonomies for characterizing life events (Luhmann et al., 2021), and linking individual differences in attachment to these perceptions will be invaluable moving forward.…”