Being Single in Your Late 20s May Take a Toll on Mental Well-Being

More young adults are staying single, a shift that may affect well-being. A University of Zurich study finds that long-term singles show greater declines in life satisfaction and higher levels of loneliness and depression, especially in their late twenties.

Media coverage increasingly frames being single as a lifestyle choice tied to independence, self-determination, and personal empowerment. Terms such as self-partnership, solo living, sologamy, and singlehood now appear frequently in public discussions. At the same time, a growing number of young adults are choosing not to enter committed romantic relationships.

Researchers led by the University of Zurich (UZH) set out to examine how remaining single for long periods shapes well-being over time. Their analysis drew on data from more than 17,000 young people in Germany and the United Kingdom who had never been in a romantic relationship at the beginning of the study. Participants completed yearly surveys between the ages of 16 and 29.

Longer singlehood: male, educated – and less satisfied

The research team, led by Michael Krämer, a senior researcher in UZH’s Department of Psychology, first looked at which individuals were more likely to stay single for longer stretches. The results show that men, people with higher levels of education, and those reporting lower well-being were more likely to remain single. Living arrangements also mattered, with individuals living alone or with a parent more likely to experience extended periods without a partner.

“Our results demonstrate that both sociodemographic factors, such as education, and psychological characteristics, such as current well-being, help predict who will enter into a romantic relationship and who won’t. The findings, which indicate a link between a stronger educational focus and postponing committed relationships, also align with previous sociological research,” says Michael Krämer, who co-led the study.

Long-term singles are increasingly lonely

The researchers also tracked how life satisfaction, loneliness, and depressive symptoms change during early adulthood among people who stayed single compared with those who formed relationships later on.

Their findings suggest that young adults who remain single for long periods tend to experience a sharper decline in life satisfaction over time, along with growing feelings of loneliness. These differences become more noticeable in the late twenties, a phase when symptoms of depression also increase. Overall, the same general trends were observed for both men and women.

First romantic relationship has positive effect

The research team then examined how young people’s first romantic relationship influences their well-being over time. As soon as young people entered their first partnership, their well-being improved across several dimensions: they reported higher life satisfaction and felt less lonely – both in the short term and in the long term. No such effect was observed, however, with regard to depressive symptoms.

“Overall, our findings show that remaining single for a prolonged period in young adulthood is associated with moderate risks to well-being,” says Krämer. While long-term singles and those who entered a romantic relationship later differed very little during adolescence, these differences increased significantly the longer singlehood lasted. “This suggests that entering a first relationship may become more difficult when people are in their late twenties – especially since lower well-being also increases the likelihood of remaining single for longer,” Krämer adds.

Reference: “Life satisfaction, loneliness, and depressivity in consistently single young adults in Germany and the United Kingdom” by Michael D. Krämer, Julia Stern, Laura Buchinger, Grant MacDonald, and Wiebke Bleidorn, 13 January 2026, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000595

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