Not a single meaning

Definition and evolution of singlehood in France and the United States

Bibliographic Data

ID12927367
AuthorsMarie Bergström (0000-0003-0949-5997, Institut national d'études démographiques, corresponding author), Sandra Brée (0000-0002-2802-5563, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
Year2023
Volume15
Issue3
Pages465-484
Publication date2023-06-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Family Theory & Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1756-2570 • E-ISSN: 1756-2589
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jftr.12519
OpenAlexW4380202039
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited54

Singlehood appears to be an understudied topic in the social sciences, and a particularly diverse field of research. Focusing on the United States and France, this article reviews existing literature to answer three questions that are prerequisites for theorizing singlehood (1) What is singlehood? We first discuss the diversity of terms used in ordinary language to designate singles, and the different statistical measures that coexist in the scholarly literature. (2) Who and how many are single? We show that different definitions lead to different counts of the single population and discuss the driving forces behind the rise in singlehood. (3) What is new? Drawing on literature on the couple norm and the single lifestyle, we then turn to the question of the specificity of the contemporary era. In the last section, we discuss the implications for theorizing singlehood. The answers to all three questions lead us to promote a life course approach to singlehood

Grounded theory · Meaning (existential · Population · Psychotherapist · Qualitative research · Sociology · Anthropology · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology · Social Psychology

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Open DOIOpen Access