Fear of being single moderates the link between relationship status and psychological or sexual well-being

Abstract

Fear of being single is associated with allonormative beliefs, which reflect the assumption that being in a committed relationship is essential for happiness. This study examined whether the association between relationship status and life satisfaction or psychological well-being depends on a person’s level of fear of being single. Data were collected through an online survey from 1,143 participants (58.5% women, 41.5% men; Mage = 39.90, SD = 12.97) living in German-speaking countries. The survey included validated measures of sexual depression, depressive symptoms, psychological well-being, and life satisfaction. The results showed that single individuals, compared to those in committed relationships, reported lower psychological well-being, including more depressive and sexual depressive symptoms, but only when their fear of being single was high. The association between being single and lower life satisfaction was also more pronounced among individuals with a higher fear of being single than among those with a lower fear. These findings suggest that previously reported links between singlehood and poorer psychological or sexual well-being may be partly explained by distress related to internalised or socially imposed allonormative beliefs. Therapeutic practice needs to consider the fear of being single when addressing patients’ or clients’ psychological and sexual well-being.