Reasons of Singles for Being Single: Evidence from Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, India, Japan and the UK

Bibliographic Data

ID24315239
AuthorsMenelaos Apostolou (University of Nicosia, Cyprus), Béla Birkás (0000-0002-6380-7093, University of Pécs, Hungary), Caio Santos A da Silva (University of São Paulo, Brazil), Gianluca Esposito (0000-0002-6077-9920, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore), Rafael Ming Chi S Hsu (University of São Paulo, Brazil), Peter Karl Jonason (University of Padova, Italy), Konstantinos Karamanidis (University of Nicosia, Cyprus), Jiaqing O (Aberystwyth University, UK), Yohsuke Ohtsubo (0000-0003-2074-0244, University of Tokyo, Japan), Ádám Putz (0009-0006-5410-697X, University of Pécs, Hungary), Daniel Sznycer (University of Montreal, QC, Canada), Andrew G Thomas (0000-0001-5251-7923, Swansea University, Wales, UK), Jaroslava Varella Valentova (University of São Paulo, Brazil), Marco Antonio Correa Varella (University of São Paulo, Brazil), Karel Kleisner (0000-0002-3277-8365, Charles University, Prague, Czechia), Jaroslav Flegr (0000-0002-0822-0126, Charles University, Prague, Czechia), Yan Wang (0009-0009-9633-0023, Fudan University, Shanghai, China)
Year2021
Volume55
Issue4
Pages319-350
Publication date2021-10-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCross-Cultural Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1069-3971 • E-ISSN: 1552-3578
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/10693971211021816
OpenAlexW3166128194
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited25

The current research aimed to examine the reasons people are single, that is, not in an intimate relationship, across eight different countries—Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, India, Japan, and the UK. We asked a large cross-cultural sample of single participants ( N = 6,822) to rate 92 different possible reasons for being single. These reasons were classified into 12 factors, including one’s perceived inability to find the right partner, the perception that one is not good at flirting, and the desire to focus on one’s career. Significant sex and age effects were found for most factors. The extracted factors were further classified into three separate domains: Perceived poor capacity to attract mates, desiring the freedom of choice, and currently being in between relationships. The domain structure, the relative importance of each factor and domain, as well as sex and age effects were relatively consistent across countries. There were also important differences however, including the differing effect sizes of sex and age effects between countries.

age differences · career focus · cross-cultural comparison · cross-national differences · Flirting · mate attraction · romantic relationships · sex differences · singlehood · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Marriage and Sexual Relationships