The link between singlehood in young adulthood and effects of romantic separation

Objective

This article aims to uncover long-term effects of singlehood after leaving home by examining whether individuals fare better after separation from their first cohabiting partner if they were not immediately coupled after leaving home.

Background

Singlehood after leaving home offers young people the opportunity to invest in their development, and social and economic resources. From a life-course perspective, it is expected that these investments may advance their resilience to instability later in life. These long-term effects are expected to be gender specific.

Method

This article employs longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, following individuals over a five-year period around separation. Using individuals fixed effects models, we estimate life satisfaction and labor earnings before and after separation from the first cohabiting partner.

Results

This article finds a decline in life satisfaction after separation for all groups. Among men, declines in life satisfaction after separation were smaller if they were initially single and if they were single for a longer period, providing support for the resilience hypothesis. Among women, earnings after separation improved most if they were immediately coupled after leaving home. An ad hoc explanation for the latter finding is that initially single women already earned more and had to make fewer adjustments to cope with separation effects. The length of singlehood was not related to separation effects on earnings.

Conclusion

This article shows that singlehood in young adulthood may have a developmental function over the life-course, buffering some of the negative effects of separation.