Cross-Cultural Differences in Experiences of Singlehood

The number of single people around the world is on the rise. Although prior research highlights the detriments associated with singlehood (e.g., discrimination), recent research paints a more mixed picture, with singlehood also linked with various positive outcomes (e.g., greater sexual satisfaction, closer ties with kin). Existing studies on singlehood, however, are mostly conducted with Western samples, which raises the question about the generalizability of findings to non-Western populations. Compared to the West, Asian cultures more strongly emphasize the need for marriage; thus single Asians might feel more coerced by their families into marriage than Westerners, and experience more distress and poorer well-being compared to their Western counterparts. I used data from existing archival datasets (Japan and America; Study 1) and conducted an online study (Singapore and American; Study 2) to examine whether (1) single Asians, versus single Westerners, report poorer well-being; (2) family support and strain explain any differences in well-being between Asian versus Western participants. In general, singles felt worse about their physical health and reported lower life satisfaction than married people. Although there was evidence for moderation by culture such that single Asian participants reported worse well-being compared to all other groups (i.e., married and/or Western), the interaction between relationship status and culture was only present for Japanese versus Western participants in Study 1, and not for Singaporean versus Western participants in Study 2. There was also some evidence that familial support and strain explained the links between relationship status and well-being, but in divergent ways for Westerners and the two Asian samples. The current project contributes important new information about singlehood across cultures and identifies mechanisms linking relationship status and people’s well-being.PHDPsychologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/172569/1/lsim_1.pd