Are we happier single or married?
Have you been in a situation to prove that you are just as well adjusted as your married friends? New studies find single folks are as healthy and happy as those married ones, marriage does not necessarily has healthy happy affect on us.
96 million U.S. adults who aren’t married (12 million of them over 40), more men and women have never been married than at any time since 1950 when the U.S. Census began tracking. Back then, about 10% were never married; today, about 25% of adults have never married. The new trend of single climes all time high – more than 32 million American adults now live alone.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships finds single people are as self-sufficient and psychologically sound as those with a ring on their finger. A 2008 study found nearly as many never-married singles reported being in excellent or good health as married people.
Research aside
But all research and studies aside, don’t most of us feel that we need to be in a relationship to be happy? Society has taught us, that we ought to get married and have children. Fortunately the age at which we should get married has shifted from the early 20′s to a more flexible 20′s – 30′s.
Only recently and especially in developed countries like Europe, the status quo has changed. Couples are no more willing to stay in a relationship that is not working, and rather choose to move on and be single and happy than miserable and married. And society has adopted to this.
Personality
And then there is the question of personality. While some people grew up and became independent personalities, others learned to rely on their immediate circle or friends and family. It is those people who need a relationship more than the independent group, and are therefore more willing to stay in a relationship despite ongoing problems. We’ll have to ask ourselves whether we rather tolerate a mediocre relationship, which is clearly a bad situation, or working on ourselves to adopt better to our partner and hopefully end up happier than before.
But remember, trying to change a partner usually does not work and if your goal is to form and shape your better half into what you believe is the perfect partner, you’re likely to fail.
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