Abstract
Dr. Yuthika Girme
Department of Psychology
Simon Fraser University
Relationships and Singlehood: Two Sides of the Same Coin?
Coupled people tend to be happier than people who are single, but romantic relationships can also make people feel rejected and insecure. Single people may lack the support of a partner, but they also have the freedom and autonomy to cultivate thriving lives. Rather than a “relationship versus singlehood” debate, this talk examines how singlehood and relationship processes ought to be viewed as mutually informative. On the one hand, (a) secure and supportive relationships can foster personal and relational happiness, and (b) single people may experience lower well-being because they may lack such supportive experiences and feel the pressure to partner. On the other hand, (c) close relationships that are cold and rejecting can lead to insecurities and undermine peoples’ well-being, but (d) single people can be happy when they avoid such costly interactions and foster secure expectations about close others. Taken together, this talk highlights the importance of integrating relationship and singlehood science in order to foster happiness and security across friendship, familial, and romantic relationships broadly.
