Daily Stability in Subjective Well-Being in Romantic Relationships Versus Singlehood Among Young Adults

In recent years, there has been an increase in the proportion of individuals who remain single in affluent countries. Considering that romantic relationships have been associated with higher subjective well-being (SWB) in cross-sectional and panel data, this is a potentially worrying trend. However, it is yet unknown if these differences are reflected in the daily dynamics of SWB when comparing single and partnered individuals. Using daily diary data over four months, we compared differences in day-to-day dynamics of SWB in two propensity-score matched samples of singles (n = 85) and partnered individuals (n = 85), consisting primarily of young, female university students. Although equal in trait levels of psychological distress, we found that single individuals experience lower average levels of daily SWB as well as higher variability and instability in SWB variables, compared to partnered individuals, but no differences in resistance to change in SWB (i.e., inertia) could be observed. When analyzing individual components of SWB, singles and partnered individuals differed primarily in negative affect but not in positive affect. Furthermore, singles had greater difficulty in recovering from accumulating negative experiences compared to partnered individuals. Being in a romantic relationship is associated with both higher average levels and stability in daily SWB compared to being single. Both groups experienced decrements in SWB when they spent less time with their social support networks, highlighting the importance of having alternative strategies for handling negative experiences. Singles may also be more accustomed to significant volatility in SWB compared to partnered individuals, thus, considering expected dynamics when determining the magnitude of a problem in clinical practice is of importance.