Single people who date without a clear understanding of what they are looking for in a relationship experience more loneliness and decreased life satisfaction, McGill researchers have found.
The team conducted two complementary studies, each involving over 180 single young adults who were actively dating. Both studies looked at the associations between "relationship clarity", loneliness and life satisfaction. The concept of "relationship clarity" - a person having a clear understanding of what they are looking for in a relationship - had previously been developed by Dita Kubin, a co-author of the paper and a recent McGill PhD graduate in psychology.
In the first study, the researchers asked the participants to reflect on their current dating experiences and fill out questionnaires measuring their relationship clarity, loneliness and life satisfaction. In the second study, the team investigated a different set of single people using the same measures, but followed them for two months.
Lack of clarity, incompatible partners
"The repeated measures of our second study gave us more confidence that a lack of relationship clarity leads to loneliness, rather than loneliness creating a lack of relationship clarity," explained Katya Kredl, a PhD student in psychology and lead author of the paper.
Several explanations for this association are possible, according to the research team.
"People low in relationship clarity may be less selective in dating contexts, which could lead to unfulfilling dating experiences with incompatible partners, said Kredl. "Lacking relationship clarity may also lead people to interpret ambiguous cues as negative during their dates. When people feel uncertain about a social situation, they are more likely to interpret neutral cues as rejection, which then heightens feelings of loneliness."
The team also validated the concept of relationship clarity through additional studies, which allowed them to compare it to related constructs, such as satisfaction with singlehood. Kredl said this research work confirmed the relationship clarity scale was measuring something new and distinct.
Loneliness as a global concern
Kredl explained that about 50 per cent of Canadians and Americans reported feeling lonely in recent years, according to government data from both countries, and that loneliness has been linked to a variety of mental and physical issues.
Because romantic relationships can serve as a form of primary social support, previous research has shown that single individuals who report higher loneliness and lower perceived social support also tend to report lower life satisfaction and well-being, according to the research team.
Kredl said the team hopes the benefits of relationship clarity can help improve single people's well-being.
"Moving forward, we are interested in developing an intervention to help people make their relationship goals clearer," she added.
About the study
"Knowing What You Want: The Role of Relationship Clarity in Single Young Adults' Loneliness and Well-Being" by Katya F. Kredl, Dita Kubin, John E. Lydon was published in Personal Relationships.
The research was supported by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec (Société et Culture) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
