Individualism and income appear to shape relationship status across 59 countries

Whether a person remains single is linked to a combination of personal circumstances and the cultural values of the country they live in. A large study published in PLOS One found that personal traits like age and income relate to relationship status differently depending on how much a society values individualism and adaptability. These findings suggest that singlehood is shaped by broad cultural environments rather than just individual choices.

Over the past few decades, the traditional family structure has shifted in many parts of the world. In the United States, Canada, and various European and Asian nations, the population of single adults has grown steadily. Researchers want to understand the broad societal forces driving this trend. Past sociological research has mostly focused on personal characteristics, such as education levels or economic stability.

Psychologists Marta Kowal and Katarzyna Adamczyk, based at the University of Wrocław and Adam Mickiewicz University respectively, wanted to expand on this past research. They suspected that personal demographic characteristics might operate differently depending on the surrounding culture. The researchers decided to examine how national culture interacts with personal circumstances to predict relationship status.

To measure culture, the researchers relied on a framework known as the Minkov-Hofstede model. This model divides national cultures into two main spectrums. The first spectrum is individualism versus collectivism. Individualistic cultures value personal freedom, independence, and self-reliance. Collectivistic cultures prioritize tradition, strict social rules, and group loyalty.

The second cultural spectrum is flexibility versus monumentalism. Flexible cultures, often found in East Asia, value adaptability, humility, self-control, and long-term goals like acquiring a good education. Monumentalist cultures, which the model associates with regions like Latin America and the Arab world, value an unchanging and proud sense of self. Monumentalist societies encourage people to follow their impulses, seek immediate gratification, and remain invariant in their values.

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To conduct the study, Kowal and Adamczyk analyzed an existing dataset from the World Values Survey. The researchers utilized a large sample of 71,169 individuals across 59 countries. The data, collected between 2017 and 2021, included detailed interviews conducted at the participants’ homes.

The researchers categorized participants based on their relationship status. People who were married or living together as married were classified as partnered. Those who were single and never married were classified as single. For the main analysis, the researchers excluded people who were divorced, widowed, or separated.

The researchers then gathered personal details for each participant, including their age, sex, hometown size, education level, income, and employment status. Next, they assigned each participant a cultural score based on their country of residence. They used established national scores for both the individualism and flexibility spectrums.

Finally, the researchers used a statistical technique that allowed them to look at data on multiple levels at once. This method let them evaluate how national cultural trends might alter the effects of personal demographics on a person’s relationship status. A secondary analysis that included divorced and widowed individuals as single yielded the exact same statistical patterns.

The analysis revealed several consistent patterns across all countries. People were more likely to be single if they were younger, male, and living in larger towns. Higher education levels, lower income, and unemployment were also associated with a greater likelihood of being single.

These demographic associations align with expectations from past sociological research. Younger people are still in the phase of searching for a partner. Educational expansion delays entry into the workforce, which often pushes back the timeline for marriage. A lack of economic stability, characterized by unemployment or low income, can discourage people from committing to serious relationships.

The sex and location differences also matched established patterns. Women often face more social pressure to marry, which may make them less likely to remain single compared to men. Living in larger urban areas often correlates with a lower adherence to traditional family values, creating environments where singlehood is more socially accepted.

National culture also played a direct role in predicting relationship status. People living in highly individualistic countries were more likely to be single. Individualism grants people the freedom to behave according to their own beliefs, making a single lifestyle an easier path to choose.

People in less flexible, or more monumentalist, countries were also more likely to be single. Because monumentalist cultures encourage people to follow their immediate impulses and desires rather than prioritizing long-term goals, they may promote short-term dating over settling down into a long-term partnership.

The study uncovered notable interactions between personal traits and cultural values. In more individualistic countries, the link between being single and having a lower income or being unemployed was much stronger. Individualistic societies expect young people to become self-reliant and secure their own financial resources before starting a family. If a person lacks those resources in an individualistic culture, they are highly likely to remain single.

The connection between being male and being single was also stronger in individualistic nations. The researchers proposed that individualistic cultures emphasize independence. This cultural emphasis aligns with the traditional social expectation that men should be self-reliant, potentially making singlehood an expected path for men in those societies.

In monumentalist countries, older age was more strongly associated with singlehood than it was in flexible countries. Monumentalist cultures encourage people to live authentically according to their personal desires rather than conforming to societal expectations. Since older adults tend to conform less to social pressures as they age, they may be more inclined to live independently in societies that celebrate personal authenticity.

The researchers noted a few limitations to their work. The data used in the analysis was observational, meaning it cannot prove cause and effect. While lower income and unemployment predict a higher likelihood of singlehood, it is also possible that living alone leads to different financial outcomes. The relationship between these factors could go in both directions.

The analysis also grouped all single and never-married people into one unified category. Single individuals are a highly diverse group with different dating histories and personal desires. Some people actively choose to remain single, while others are involuntarily single.

Future research could expand on these findings by tracking people over time to observe how their relationship status evolves. Researchers could also look at other cultural dimensions to see how the freedom to choose new social groups affects the likelihood of finding a partner.

The study, “Sociodemographic and cultural factors are related to singlehood rates: A multilevel analysis across 59 countries from the World Values Survey,” was authored by Marta Kowal and Katarzyna Adamczyk.