SINGLE PEOPLE MAY BE AT A DISADVANTAGE WHEN IT COMES TO ECONOMICS AND HEALTH LONGTERM

    

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Although marriage or a long-term relationship is often seen as the norm, more people are staying single for life. Singlehood can have economic and medical disadvantages, especially as people age and may become more reliant on others.

New research in Psychological Science reveals that lifelong singles score lower on life satisfaction measures and different personality traits than partnered people. These findings highlight the need for helpful networks and ways to create networks better suited to single people.

"When there are differences, they might be especially important in elderly people who face more health issues and financial issues," said Julia Stern, one of the lead authors and a senior researcher at the University of Bremen in Germany, in an interview with APS. "They need more help, and the help is usually the partner."

Stern and colleagues compared the two groups' life satisfaction ratings of single and partnered individuals and the Big Five personality traits (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism). The study surveyed more than 77,000 Europeans over 50 and was the first to compare cultures and examine people who had been single their entire lives. The findings revealed that, in addition to lower life satisfaction scores, lifelong singles are less extroverted, conscientious, and open to experience than partnered people.

Previous studies used different definitions of being single, sometimes considering only current status and other times drawing the line at having never married or, alternatively, at never living with a partner. But people who have been in a serious relationship in the past -- even if it has ended -- might have different personality traits than those who have never been that committed. To investigate this, Stern and colleagues grouped respondents by the various definitions: currently partnered, never living with a partner, never married, or never being in any long-term relationship. People who had never been in a serious long-term relationship scored lower on extraversion, openness, and life satisfaction than those who were currently single but had lived with a partner or been married in the past. All singles scored lower on these measures than people in current relationships.

Although this study cannot definitively decipher if personality differences are due to selection -- people with certain personality types may be more likely to start relationships -- or socialization -- long-term relationships could change personalities -- the evidence points to the former. Stern said that changes in personality from being in a relationship are minor and temporary. For instance, although an extroverted person beginning a new relationship may be keen to stay with their partner, their extraversion eventually returns.

"It's more likely you have these selection effects: For example, people who are more extraverted are more likely to enter a relationship," Stern said. However, she warned that the results are average effects and not necessarily descriptive of everyone; of course, there are single extroverts and introverts in committed relationships.

Living in a society where marriage is expected may affect singles' life satisfaction. Because the large sample included people from 27 European countries, the researchers could ask whether there were any cultural differences. In countries with higher marriage rates (such as southern European countries), singlehood resulted in even lower life satisfaction scores, but the effects were minor. The religiosity of the government did not matter.

When comparing genders and ages, single women scored higher on life satisfaction than single men and older people tended to be happier with their singlehood status than middle-aged singles. Stern speculated that, with the era of their peers getting married and starting families behind them, older singles may accept their circumstances and be happier.

Although singles may grow happier with age, their lower scores than partnered people are still concerning. Previous research has shown that life satisfaction and particular personality traits (including extraversion and conscientiousness) can predict health and mortality, emphasizing the need to find ways to promote the well-being of older singles.

"There are differences between people who stay single their entire lives and people who get partnered, and for me this means that we have to take extra care of these people," Stern said. She suggested developing new kinds of programs to prevent loneliness that take these personality traits into consideration and help older singles meet like-minded people. "If they have people who care for them or look out for them regularly, this might help."

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