While marriage or long-term relationships are often considered the norm, more people are choosing to remain single throughout their lives. However, this can lead to economic and health-related disadvantages, particularly in later life when individuals may become more dependent on others.
New research in Psychological Science reveals that lifelong singles have lower scores on life satisfaction measures and different personality traits compared to partnered people, findings that point to the need for both helpful networks and ways to create such networks that are better catered 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 single people and partnered individuals on life satisfaction ratings and the Big Five personality traits (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism). The study used a survey of more than 77,000 Europeans over the age of 50 and was the first of its kind to look across cultures and at people who had been single their entire lives. The findings revealed that, in addition to lower life satisfaction scores, lifelong singles are less extraverted, less conscientious, and less open to experience, compared to partnered people.
Previous research on singlehood has used varying definitions, focusing on current status, never having married, or never having cohabited. However, individuals who have had past serious relationships, even if ended, may differ from those who have never experienced such commitment. To address this, Stern and colleagues categorized participants based on distinct criteria: currently partnered, never cohabited, never married, or never been in a long-term relationship. They found that those who had never been in a serious relationship scored lower on extraversion, openness, and life satisfaction compared to those currently single but with past cohabitation or marriage experience. All single individuals scored lower on these measures than those currently in 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 to personality from being in a relationship are small and temporary. For instance, although an extraverted person beginning a new relationship may be keen to stay in with their partner, eventually their extraversion comes back.
“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. But she warned that the results are average effects and not necessarily descriptive of everyone; of course, there are single extraverts and introverts in committed relationships.
While single individuals may experience increased happiness with age, their consistently lower scores compared to partnered individuals raise concerns. Given that previous research links life satisfaction and certain personality traits (such as extraversion and conscientiousness) to health and mortality, it’s crucial to identify strategies that promote the well-being of older single adults.
“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.”
