Satisfying singlehood as a function of age and cohort: Satisfaction with being single increases with age after midlife.

Park, Yoobin; Page‐Gould, Elizabeth; MacDonald, Geoff

doi:10.1037/pag0000695

Cited by 23 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Our data suggest that this group of individuals may typically be older (Studies 1 and 2), which aligns with previous findings that older (vs. younger) singles tend to have more positive attitudes toward singlehood (Park et al, 2022; Poortman & Liefbroer, 2010). It is possible that those who value independence to a greater degree are more likely to remain single, or alternatively, being (becoming) single at an older age leads one to place greater value on independence.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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

Park¹,

MacDonald²,

Impett³

et al. 2023

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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Despite the worldwide increase in unpartnered individuals (i.e., singles), little research exists to provide a comprehensive understanding of the heterogeneity within this population. In the present research (N = 3,195), we drew on the fundamental social motives framework to provide a theory-based description and understanding of different “types” of single individuals. Across two Western samples (primarily European and American) and one Korean sample (all collected during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2021), we identified three groups of singles with relatively consistent motivational patterns: (a) singles with strong independence motives and little interest in affiliation, mating, or status (i.e., independent profile); (b) singles with great interest in self-protection as well as social connections and status (i.e., socially focused profile); and (c) singles with little interest in self-protection but moderate interest in affiliation (i.e., low safety focus profile). Notably, these profile features did not perfectly replicate in one smaller Western sample collected before the pandemic (particularly the low safety focus profile), highlighting the need to interpret the data with the historical background in mind. Across samples, the independence-oriented group of singles consistently reported greater satisfaction with singlehood compared to other groups. The three groups of singles also showed substantial differences in other affective and behavioral variables (e.g., how they spend their social time). These findings advance the growing body of research on singlehood by offering new theoretical perspectives on different types of singles.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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

Park¹,

MacDonald²,

Impett³

et al. 2023

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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“…A negative relationship was found between FOBS and age at a low level in the current study. This result could be evaluated in parallel with the finding of a recent study indicating that people tend to feel satisfied with their singlehood as they get older (Park. et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Validating the Turkish Adaptation of the Fear of Being Single Scale

Kırımer-Aydınlı¹,

küçükkömürler²

2023

Preprint

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People sometimes feel anxious about their romantic relationship status in the future. Fear of being single (FOBS) is one of the possible sources of this anxiety. Fear of being single has been defined as distress toward the possibility of being single and is measured using the FOBS Scale. In the current study, the FOBS Scale was adapted into Turkish. The study included 340 single or partnered individuals aged 28 to 55 (M = 23.63, SD = 6.45). The reliability and validity of the measure and the association of the construct with particular variables were investigated for the first time in this cultural context. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed an acceptable model fit for the single-factor structure. The internal consistency of the scale pointed to robust reliability. The convergent and divergent validity analyses revealed that FOBS is distinct from generalized anxiety, attachment anxiety, and neuroticism. FOBS was found to be related to the need to belong and the inclusion of close others into self. It has been concluded that FOBS is a unique phenomenon and that the FOBS scale is a valid and reliable source to measure FOBS in the Turkish cultural context.

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“…First, we collected a large, highpowered sample, and such samples tend to yield more accurate and stable effect size estimates (Funder and Ozer, 2019). To our knowledge, ours is one of the largest studies on unpartnered singles to date, with only a few studies with similar Ns (Brown, 2020;Park et al, 2022). Second, we matched our sample to United States census targets, making it diverse in terms of age, ethnicity, education, and income.…”

Section: Strengths Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expanding relationship science to unpartnered singles: What predicts life satisfaction?

et al. 2022

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Singles are an understudied yet growing segment of the adult population. The current study aims to expand the lens of relationship science by examining the well-being of unpartnered, single adults using latent profile analysis. We recruited singles (N = 4,835) closely matched to the United States census (ages 18-65; 57.5% female; 71.1% White; 14.5% Black; 13.8% Hispanic) for an exploratory cross-sectional survey using five variables that strongly predict well-being (friendship satisfaction, family satisfaction, self-esteem, neuroticism, and extraversion). All five variables significantly predicted life satisfaction for the full sample. Latent profile analyses detected 10 groups (or profiles) of singles. Half of the profiles were happy (above the full sample mean of life satisfaction) and half of the profiles were unhappy (below the mean). Each profile had its own unique patterns relating to personal relationships, self-esteem, and personality traits. The happiest profile had the best relationships, self-esteem, and personality, while the unhappiest profile had the worst relationships, self-esteem, and personality. The profiles in between these two extremes had more nuanced patterns. For example, one relatively happy profile in the middle had high friendship satisfaction but low family satisfaction, while an adjacent profile showed the opposite pattern. Overall, singles who had positive relationships—both with themselves and others—were happiest.

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Satisfying singlehood as a function of age and cohort: Satisfaction with being single increases with age after midlife.

Cited by 23 publications

References 62 publications

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

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

Validating the Turkish Adaptation of the Fear of Being Single Scale

Expanding relationship science to unpartnered singles: What predicts life satisfaction?

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