Study: Cross-Cultural Differences in the Links Between Familial Support and Strain in Married and Single Adults' Well-Being (DOI: 10.1111/pere.70027)
Think being single is easier? A new study suggests that marriage might give people a surprising boost in health and happiness.
Researchers from the University of Michigan and Singapore Management University studied nearly 5,000 adults in the U.S. and Japan to see how being single or married affects their well-being. Single people in both countries had lower life satisfaction and health compared to married people. Married Americans reported the most family support, which helped boost their well-being, the study shows.
On the other hand, both single Americans and Japanese felt more family-related stress, but this stress only lowered happiness for Americans, not Japanese. Overall, marriage, family support and stress affect people's well-being differently depending on culture, said study co-author Robin Edelstein, U-M professor of psychology.
Being unmarried still carries significant stigma and familial pressure, potentially contributing to poor health and life satisfaction globally. Marriage, meanwhile, has long been considered a cornerstone of societal structure and personal fulfillment.
Researchers combined data from two large-scale, nationally representative samples of mid- and later-life adults in the U.S. and Japan. The data includes assessments of psychological and social factors associated with health and well-being for nearly two decades.
The study, which included participants who were married or never married, had a sample of 3,505 married and 308 single Americans, and 710 married and 164 single Japanese adults.
Single adults in both cultures, according to the findings, reported worse physical health and lower life satisfaction than their married counterparts. Edelstein said the disparity was partially explained by familial support and strain, but the impact varied across cultures: While familial strain negatively predicted well-being in the American sample, its influence was not significant for Japanese participants.
Similarly, familial support was positively associated with well-being in the U.S. but showed weaker and inconsistent effects in Japan. The greater contact with family did not always translate to more emotionally supportive relationships, the study indicates.
"Single individuals may be more embedded in family routines, but they may not always feel emotionally supported and may even be more vulnerable to criticism or unmet expectations, particularly in emotionally charged domains like romantic partnership or life planning," Edelstein said.
Not surprisingly, single Americans often feel isolated and unsupported, particularly when it comes to emotional guidance and comfort. The greater marital pressure faced by single Americans may continue to strain family relationships, leading to more hostile interactions and increased tension.
While Japanese singles did report significant familial strain, its impact on their well-being was surprisingly nonsignificant.
"This may reflect adaptive coping strategies developed by Japanese singles, such as distancing themselves from family pressure or seeking alternative forms of emotional support, which buffer the longitudinal effects of familial strain," said lead author Lester Sim, assistant professor of psychology at Singapore Management University.
The normalization of marital expectations in Japan may desensitize individuals to family demands, allowing them to maintain family harmony despite personal dissatisfaction, the study shows.
"Familial strain may have a cumulative effect on well-being, becoming more impactful over a longer period and potentially leading to regret or loneliness later in life that ultimately affects single adults' physical health and life satisfaction," Edelstein said.
The study did not include data about cohabitation, which she said is a limitation.
"My sense is that partnered but not married people would fall somewhere in between," she said. "They get the benefits of partnership, in terms of social capital, support and companionship, but they might still not get the benefit of the social status that comes with marriage. This difference might be particularly important in Asian cultures, where cohabitation is becoming more common but is still perceived more negatively than in the U.S."
The findings appeared in the journal Personal Relationships.
