(Living)

New Research Shows Single People May Be Happier Than Their Married Counterparts

by Nicky Deam

Research recently presented at the American Psychological Association supports what many of us have confidently known for a long time; Single people lead happy, fulfilled lives. Compared to their married counterparts, single people experience more enriched social lives and enjoy greater personal growth, both points that greatly contradict stereotypes associated with a life of singledom.

Bella DePaulo, a project scientist at the University of California Santa Barbara and author of Singled Out: How Singles Are Stereotyped, Stigmatized, and Ignored, and Still Live Happily Ever After, conducted comprehensive reviews of recent of studies on the subject, and asserts “The stereotypes insist that single people are isolated and alone; in fact, they are more connected to other people than married people are, and when people get married, they get more insular. The stereotypes suggest that single people are self-centered pleasure seekers. But in fact, single people do more than their share of caring for other people.”

While this isn’t to suggest that marriage is bad for social and personal development, it is heartening to know that science is finally catching up with what many of us already knew.