Women find greater satisfaction with singlehood than men: Study

More about the research

Much of relationship science has focused on the experiences of partnered individuals, leaving gaps in understanding the well-being of singles, the researchers said. They added they were motivated by the growing recognition of singlehood as an important relationship status that has been underrepresented in research.

They also wanted to highlight how stereotypes – existing societal narratives that often paint single women as lonely or unfulfilled while portraying single men as desirable and content – persist despite evidence suggesting that women may generally report higher well-being than men.

The researchers pooled data from 10 existing studies conducted between 2020 and 2023. These studies collectively included 5,941 participants who were not in romantic relationships at the time of data collection. The sample was evenly split between men and women, with participants ranging in age from 18 to 75 and an average age of 31.7 years.

Participants completed questionnaires assessing their satisfaction with their current relationship status, overall life satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and their desire for a romantic partner. These measures were harmonised across the studies to ensure consistency, and the data were analysed using statistical models that accounted for potential differences across the samples.

What the study found

The results suggest that single women, on average, report higher levels of satisfaction with relationship status, life satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and lower desire for a partner. Exploratory analyses showed significant gender interactions with age and ethnicity, the researchers said. Overall, these findings suggest that women are, on average, happier in singlehood than men, they added.

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