Single life becomes better with age

Authors Anne Boger and Oliver Huxhold of the German Geriatric Center analyzed data and results from the German Study on Aging, a survey of citizens between the ages of 40 and 85, conducted in 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2014.

Ann and Oliver focused on 2552 people interviewed in 2008 and again in 2014, taking into account cases from 1996 and 2002.
Came out with four clear conclusions showing that satisfaction with celibacy has increased historically and is also increasing with age. On the other hand, the correlation has lost its importance in confronting loneliness over time and aging. As for the persons involved and their satisfaction with their relationships, the results are not as accurate as before. With age, taking into account the current historical period, singles are more satisfied with their lives:

1. In this study, which included a sample aged between 40 and 85 years, individuals who opted for non-attachment became more satisfied with their lives after age. The results remain mixed for the individuals involved, with some saying that the quality of the relationship declined for a period before it improved after age.



2. As time passed (between 1996 and 2014), singles became more satisfied with the life they chose. Again, the results for couples are not accurate enough. Based on the way in which these data were analyzed, the researchers found that the persons involved had the same degree of satisfaction with their lives in this period as the previous ones, but this is mainly seen in couples in middle age.

As you age, a person's intimacy becomes ineffective over how lonely he is. The researchers compared levels of loneliness in people with intimate relationships and those who were not intimately connected. The first group is comprised of married couples, individuals living with their emotional partners and individuals who have declared themselves in a stable intimate relationship. The second group includes divorcees, widows, people living away from their partners and living alone with little or no intimate relationship.

When there is a difference in levels of loneliness, the greatest difference is between married and previously married for a certain period, while loneliness is lost in individuals who have never experienced marriage. For example, in a study involving a sample of people aged 65 and over, loneliness was found to be higher among widows than others. For those who have never married, nearly half (46%) have never felt lonely, and only 9% have acknowledged their loneliness at all times or at intervals.

Taking this observation into account, it is not surprising that researchers find the absence of loneliness in group 1 compared to the second group.

3. With age, differences in loneliness between people, regardless of their emotional life, fade.



4. Over time (between 1996 and 2014), the differences in loneliness between people, regardless of their emotional life, have narrowed.

The sense of loneliness may be rare among people associated with an intimate relationship compared with others in 1996. However, this difference faded over time. By 2014, there was no relationship between the nature of the person's emotional life and his sense of loneliness. Why did bachelorhood become better with age and with time?

The researchers did not go into details about the factors that make single men more satisfied with their lives as they age, or the reasons behind their improved emotional status than in the 1990s. In her book Singled Out, Dr. Bella DePaulo (author of the original article) talked about ways in which the importance of marriage, both with age and social changes, has declined over time, especially for women:

"Financial independence - for women in particular - occupies an important place on the list of social changes that have strengthened many singles. With women earning less than men, there are a large number of women who earn enough to support themselves, or even a few children. They no longer have to rely on their husbands economically.

Men and women can have sex without any social controls. The children of single mothers have the same rights as others. With scientific progress, it is possible for a woman to have sex without becoming pregnant, and can also become pregnant without having sex. When sex, parenting, and economic status were linked to a court complex called marriage, the differences were very pronounced between singles and married couples. At present, the institution of marriage is still rooted in our laws, policies, religions and culture. But lost much of its meaning as a year of life ».