Jager Justin, Rauer Amy, Pettit Gregory S
T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.
Department of Child and Family Studies, University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Res Hum Dev. 2024;21(1):1-5. doi: 10.1080/15427609.2024.2375912. Epub 2024 Jul 10.
A growing number of adults are spending more of their lifetime as single, either because they are taking longer to form unions, are re-entering singlehood after the dissolution of unions, or are avoiding union formation all together. Nevertheless, existing relationship research still generally positions singlehood as something to avoid, limiting our understanding of the rapidly evolving position of singlehood within the lifecourse as well as its implications for health and well-being. Thus, this special issue includes four articles that collectively offer theoretical and empirical inquiries of developmental and historical trends in singlehood and relationship histories, examine the antecedents and consequences of these trends, and explore how they vary based on salient sociodemographic characteristics. Overall, this special issue demonstrates that singlehood is more than just a temporary status within one's "progression" to the formation of committed relationships. It is our hope that the papers in this issue will encourage scholars to revise and expand their perspective on relationships to include singlehood alongside committed relationships as a potentially viable and healthy status as well as valid point of destination.
越来越多的成年人一生中单身的时间在增加，这要么是因为他们组建家庭的时间推迟，要么是在婚姻关系解体后重新回归单身，要么是完全避免组建家庭。然而，现有的关系研究仍然普遍将单身视为需要避免的状态，这限制了我们对单身在人生历程中迅速演变的地位及其对健康和幸福影响的理解。因此，本期特刊包含四篇文章，它们共同对单身及恋爱史的发展和历史趋势进行了理论和实证探究，审视了这些趋势的前因后果，并探讨了它们如何因显著的社会人口特征而有所不同。总体而言，本期特刊表明，单身不仅仅是一个人在“迈向”稳定恋爱关系过程中的临时状态。我们希望本期的论文能鼓励学者修正并拓宽他们对恋爱关系的看法，将单身与稳定恋爱关系一同纳入考量，将单身视为一种潜在可行且健康的状态以及一个合理的归宿。
