It turns out that married people really are happier.
While nine in ten Americans will marry or enter a serious relationship at some point in their lives, more adults than ever are choosing to remain single long-term.
While some studies show that single people are just as happy as their peers, a new study shows that people in relationships may still have the upper hand.
Experts in Germany surveyed more than 77,000 adults over 50 and compared what psychologists have called their Big Five personality traits.
These include extroversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness and neuroticism.
The team found that people who had never been in a serious relationship were generally less “satisfied” than people who were in relationships, as well as people who are currently single but were previously in a relationship.
Singletons were also less outgoing and open than married or partnered adults.
The findings come amid a slew of recent studies showing that single people are more likely to become depressed than those with a partner they can lean on – and that more and more people are marrying later or not at all, fueling the crash US fertility rate could pick up.
Researchers in Germany found that single people are less satisfied with life than people in serious relationships (stock image)
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Julia Stern, author of the study and senior researcher at the University of Bremen in Germany, said: ‘There are differences between people who remain single all their lives and people who become partnered, and for me this means that we need to take extra care of this. have to wear. people.’
In the study published in the journal last month Psychological Scienceresearchers interviewed 77,064 adults over 50 from 28 countries. The majority (57 percent) of participants were female and almost two-thirds were retired.
Nearly nine in ten adults surveyed were parents, and the average age was 68.
Of these participants, almost 5,000 (six percent) had never been married, 3,000 (four percent) had never lived with a partner and 2,400 (three percent) had never been in a serious long-term relationship.
Researchers asked participants to rate their life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being “completely dissatisfied” and 10 being “completely satisfied.”
Lifelong singles were found to be less outgoing, less conscientious and less open to experience than those currently in a relationship.
This group also said they were less satisfied with life overall compared to those who have been in a relationship in the past or are currently in a relationship.
However, single women had higher life satisfaction scores than single men.
Additionally, older singles said they were happier being single than their middle-aged peers without a partner.
The team said this could be because older single people are past the period in their lives when all their friends and relatives are getting married and starting families, making them less prone to jealousy.
Stern also noted that personality changes resulting from relationships can be temporary. For example, an extrovert who dates an introvert is initially more likely to adopt his partner’s personality before his extroversion returns.
The team said the reason why singles may be less satisfied is unclear.
However, recent research shows that being in a relationship creates a better support system, and that couples are better off financially than singles.
Stern said, “If there are differences, they may be especially important among older adults who face more health and financial challenges.
“They need more help, and that help is usually the partner.”