Having a Partner or Living with a Partner: Differences in Life Satisfaction and Mental Health

Abstract

Using longitudinal data from Australia we compare the wellbeing effects of transitions both into and out relationships, using two different measures of wellbeing: life satisfaction and mental health. We distinguish between the formation, and ending of, three different types of relationships across three years: Living-apart-together (LAT), cohabitations, and marriages. For those in LAT relationships, we find they are quite distinct from other ‘single’ people. Starting, or ending, a LAT relationship has a significant impact on an individual’s wellbeing. We also find that transitions into relationships, and transitions out of relationships, do not have equivalent effects. Generally, moving from a relationship to being single had a more significant negative impact on life satisfaction and mental health, than moving into a relationship had a positive impact. These findings suggest that having an intimate partner, even one who is not co-resident, is related to higher levels of wellbeing compared to having no partner.

Pathways of family change. A typology of multipartnered fertility life courses in five Northern European countries

“…Indeed, most MPF parents spend some time as a single parent, either because they initially enter parenthood without a co-residential partner, or because they enter and exit unions in which children are born. Living in a single-parent family can have negative repercussions for both the parent and the children, as they lack access to the economic resources and the social and emotional support that a co-residential partner can provide (Evans, Gray and Reimondos, 2023). In addition, single parenthood can be relevant for the diverse ways in which MPF unfolds.…”