Exploring the associations between being single, romantic importance, and positive well‐being in young adulthood

• Published date: 01 February 2024
• Author: Nicole K. Watkins,Jonathon J. Beckmeyer,Tyler B. Jamison
• Date: 01 February 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12981

RESEARCH

Exploring the associations between being single,

romantic importance, and positive well-being in

young adulthood

Nicole K. Watkins

1

|Jonathon J. Beckmeyer

2

|Tyler B. Jamison

3

1

Department of Psychology, Penn State

University, Dunmore, PA

2

Department of Counseling and Learning

Sciences, West Virginia University,

Morgantown, WV

3

Department of Human Development and

Family Studies, University of New Hampshire,

Durham, NH

Correspondence

Nicole K. Watkins, Penn State Scranton,

120 Ridge View Drive, Dunmore, PA 18512,

USA.

Email: nkw5323@psu.edu

Abstract

Objective: The goal was to explore if perceived romantic

relationship importance moderated associations between

single status and young adults’positive well-being.

Background: Singlehood is often framed within a deficit

framework, with the expectation that being single during

young adulthood may be costly for well-being. That approach,

however, does not account for young adults’romantic goals,

which may shape how being single is connected to well-being.

Method: Participants were 909 American young adults,

ages 18–35 (M=26.6, 51% female, 81% heterosexual,

58% White, non-Hispanic), who completed an online sur-

vey in December 2019.

Results: Being single, compared to having a romantic part-

ner, was associated with lower love life satisfaction, gen-

eral life satisfaction, and flourishing. However, the

associations with general life and love life satisfaction were

attenuated by relationship dismissal.

Conclusion: Although single young adults reported lower

general and love life satisfaction and flourishing, when per-

ceptions of relationship importance were taken into account,

relationship dismissal ameliorated the effect of being single

on love life satisfaction and general life satisfaction. Placing

less importance on romantic relationships may be a promo-

tive factor for single young adults’positive well-being.

Implications: These findings have implications for supporting

young adults’positive well-being, particularlybyframing

singlehood as normative and, in some cases, preferable to

romantic involvement.

KEYWORDS

flourishing, life satisfaction, romantic involvement, singlehood, young adulthood

Received: 3 June 2022Revised: 15 November 2023Accepted: 30 November 2023

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12981

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and

reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2023 The Authors. Family Relations published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of National Council on Family Relations.

484 Family Relations. 2024;73:484–501.

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare

Research on young adult singlehood has largely been framed from a deficit perspective

(DePaulo, 2023). For example, scholars have described ways in which single young adults may

miss out by not having romantic partners, highlighted negative feelings toward being single,

and positioned being single as less desirable than having a romantic partner (Girme et al., 2016;

Lehmann et al., 2015; Sharp & Ganong, 2011). Comparisons of well-being between single and

romantically partnered young adults has focused on well-being challenges such as depressive

symptoms, anxiety, loneliness, social dissatisfaction, substance use, risky sexual behavior, and

criminal or delinquent behavior (e.g., Braithwaite et al., 2010; Ta et al., 2017; Whitton

et al., 2013). Thus, when exploring the broader literature on singlehood, it would be easy to

draw the conclusion that singles are not hopeful, happy, or healthy when compared to their par-

tnered peers.

Our purpose in the present study was to challenge that narrative by focusing on positive

aspects of well-being and considering contextual factors that may shape (i.e., moderate) the

association between being single and well-being. Further, we centered our study on single young

adults rather than treating them as the default referent group. By positioning being single as a

normative, and potentially advantageous, experience during young adulthood, our results may

help inform family science efforts to nurture young adults’happiness and well-being as they

navigate individual, family, and interpersonal tasks and transitions on their path to becoming

adults.

Theoretical frameworks

We drew on two theoretical frameworks for the present study: developmental task theory and

symbolic interactionism. The central tenets of developmental task theory (DTT) are that within

developmental stages (e.g., childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood) individ-

uals encounter emerging and salient tasks—accomplishing these developmental tasks promotes

well-being (Schulenberg et al., 2004). Young adults’salient developmental tasks fall within the

domains of education and occupation, behavioral health, and romantic relationships and family

formation (Roisman et al., 2004). Because young adults are expected to have developed the

romantic competencies needed to maintain committed romantic partnerships, romantic involve-

ment is considered a salient developmental task (Furman & Collibee, 2014). Young adulthood

is viewed as the ideal time for romantic commitment and the transition to parenthood, and

these views have not shifted very much over the years (Cepa & Furstenberg, 2021). Therefore,

according to DTT, single young adults (i.e., those who are not currently achieving the develop-

mental task of romantic involvement) should have poorer well-being than partnered young

adults (Furman & Collibee, 2014; Schulenberg et al., 2004).

However, developmental task theory does not inherently attend to the contexts that sur-

round developmental tasks, which may shape how (un)attainment is associated with well-being.

For example, perceptions of romantic relationship importance, romantic attitudes and values,

and current romantic desire may all contextualize young adults’romantic involvement (or lack

thereof). Therefore, the degree to which beingsingle is associated with lower well-being may

depend on how individuals feel about being single (Beckmeyer & Jamison, 2023b). To consider

contextual influences and meaning-making about singlehood, we draw on symbolic inter-

actionism. Symbolic interactionism highlights the importance of subjective meanings when con-

sidering the associations between behaviors, experiences, and well-being (Blumer, 1969;

LaRossa & Reitzes, 1993). That is, subjective meanings may moderate the associations between

romantic involvement and young adult well-being. In the present study, we framed the subjec-

tive meanings young adults hold about romantic relationships in terms of the importance they

placed on romantic relationships.

ROMANTIC STATUS AND WELL-BEING485