A new study provides insights into why a significant portion of adults choose to remain single. The findings, published in Studia Psychologica: Theoria et praxis, provide evidence that negative past relationship experiences significantly influence the decision to stay single, with many individuals prioritizing personal goals or nursing disappointments from previous romances.
The motivation for this study stemmed from a noticeable trend in contemporary post-industrial societies: a significant number of adults are single. This phenomenon presents in two forms – some are single against their wishes, while others actively choose to avoid intimate relationships. Researchers set out to understand this choice, especially considering the evolutionary importance of forming relationships for procreation and nurturing offspring.
“I am an evolutionary psychologist studying human mating. Having an intimate partner is of utmost evolutionary importance as people who fail to do so will not have any offspring,” explained study author Menelaos Apostolou, a professor at the University of Nicosia.
“Thus, the rising occurrence of voluntary singlehood — people not having an intimate partner and not wanting to have one — is puzzling at least from an evolutionary perspective. Thus, part of my research effort is focused on solving this puzzle.”
For their study, the researchers recruited 377 women and 252 men (with an average age around 36) via social media platforms and personal networks. The study was divided into two parts: assessing past relationship experiences and gathering demographic information.
Participants used a four-item scale to rate their previous intimate relationships, with higher scores indicating more negative experiences (e.g., “My previous relationships were traumatic”). They also provided information about their current relationship status.
The measure of relationship status was meticulously designed to categorize participants into distinct groups based on their current romantic involvement and attitudes towards relationships. The categories included ‘In a Relationship’, ‘Married’, ‘Involuntarily Single’, ‘Single Between-Relationships’, and various subcategories of ‘Prefer to be Single’, such as those single due to past disappointments, different life priorities, or other unspecified reasons.
When considering just the voluntarily single group, nearly 60% cited other priorities as their reason, followed by past disappointments (24%) and other reasons (17%).
A key discovery was the significant influence of past relationship experiences on the decision to remain single. Those with more negative experiences were more likely to choose singlehood, particularly due to past disappointments. Interestingly, this effect was consistent across genders, suggesting a universal impact of past relationship traumas on future relationship choices.
“Using a relatively large sample of Greek-speaking participants, we found that about one in five were voluntarily single, with one in four indicating that they were in this group because they were disappointed with past relationship,” Apostolou told PsyPost.
“In addition, we measured people’s past relationship experiences, and we found that those who indicated that they had negative experiences were more likely to be currently single than those who indicated more positive experiences. The take home message is that, having negative experiences in romantic relationships may discourage some people from entering into new relationships, making them to prefer to be single.”
While the study makes significant strides in understanding the dynamics of modern singlehood, there are also some limitations to consider. The findings are based on a non-random sample from a specific cultural context, which may not universally apply. The study’s correlational nature means it can’t definitively prove that negative relationship experiences cause people to choose singlehood.
“The phenomenon of singlehood is too complex and there are many factors at play. So more work and replication studies are needed to understand it,” Apostolou said.
“It seems that negative experiences with romantic relationship can have a scarring effect, discouraging people from looking for an intimate partner. One question that needs to be addressed is how persistent this effect is — for instance, does it result in people permanently withdrawing from the mating game or does it lasts only for some months/years?”
The study, “Why people prefer to be single: Voluntary singlehood and experiences with relationships“, was authored by Menelaos Apostolou and Ellie Michaelidou.