Perceptions of Married Life Among Single Never‐Married, Single Ever‐Married, and Married Adults

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-26-2019

Publication Title

Personal Relationships

First page number:

1

Last page number:

16

Abstract

With the increasing prevalence of single adults in the United States, perceptions of marriage as the relationship “gold standard” may be diminishing. In this study (N = 6,576), we explored perceptions of married life in three subgroups of participants: Those who have never married, ever married, and currently married. Across subgroups, most did not perceive married life more positively than single life in external/tangible domains (e.g., more friends), but did in emotional experiences and frame of mind (e.g., contentment). These findings suggest conceptualizations of marriage may be changing to be less positive or less discrepant from conceptualizations of single life. However, these findings also suggest that people continue to view marital relationships as a positive source of emotional experience and support.

Keywords

Cognition; Interpersonal perceptions; Marital satisfaction; Marriage; Relationship types

Disciplines

Family, Life Course, and Society | Social and Cultural Anthropology

Language

English

UNLV article access

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