Walsh Lisa C, Horton Calen, Kaufman Reed, Rodriguez Anthony, Kaufman Victor A
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
Arkoda Research Group, Anchorage, Alaska, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2024 Oct 2;19(10):e0310196. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310196. eCollection 2024.
Whether attending college, entering the workforce, or finding a romantic partner, single emerging adults navigate a pivotal stage of their lives. The present cross-sectional study sought to examine the heterogeneity in happiness of single emerging adults (N = 1,073) with a person-centered, group-differential approach. Using five predictors of life satisfaction (friendship satisfaction, family satisfaction, self-esteem, neuroticism, and extraversion) as indicators in latent profile analysis (LPA), we identified five distinct profiles (or groups) of young singles. The profiles, ordered from favorable to unfavorable indicator patterns, presented diverse shape and level differences that corresponded to varying happiness levels. Singles in Profile 1 with the most favorable indicator patterns (e.g., high friendship satisfaction, low neuroticism) were the happiest, while those in Profile 5 with the least favorable indicator patterns (e.g., low friendship satisfaction, high neuroticism) were the unhappiest. In the middle profiles, singles often offset disadvantages in one area (e.g., high neuroticism) with advantages in others (e.g., high friendship satisfaction) to achieve average to somewhat high levels of happiness. Importantly, friendship satisfaction emerged as a vital indicator, often distinguishing which singles were happy or not. Covariate analyses further validated the profiles and revealed additional profile differences (e.g., gender, anxiety, depression). Overall, our findings underscore the essential role of satisfying friendships in promoting the well-being of single emerging adults.
无论是上大学、进入职场还是寻找恋爱伴侣，单身的新兴成年人都处于人生的关键阶段。本横断面研究旨在采用以人为本的群体差异方法，研究单身新兴成年人（N = 1073）幸福感的异质性。在潜在剖面分析（LPA）中，我们使用生活满意度的五个预测因素（友谊满意度、家庭满意度、自尊、神经质和外向性）作为指标，确定了年轻单身者的五个不同剖面（或群体）。这些剖面按照有利到不利的指标模式排序，呈现出不同的形态和水平差异，对应着不同的幸福水平。剖面1中的单身者具有最有利的指标模式（例如，高友谊满意度、低神经质），是最幸福的，而剖面5中的单身者指标模式最不利（例如，低友谊满意度、高神经质），是最不幸福的。在中间剖面中，单身者常常以其他方面的优势（例如，高友谊满意度）弥补某一方面的劣势（例如，高神经质），以达到平均或略高程度的幸福水平。重要的是，友谊满意度成为一个关键指标，常常能区分哪些单身者幸福与否。协变量分析进一步验证了这些剖面，并揭示了其他剖面差异（例如，性别、焦虑、抑郁）。总体而言，我们的研究结果强调了令人满意的友谊在促进单身新兴成年人幸福感方面的重要作用。
