Unmarried adults have been reported as being more exposed and vulnerable to financial strain, social isolation, and increased parental responsibilities. However, recent research has reported that mature single women are advantaged in terms of personal autonomy and growth because of their nonmarried status. Research Questions 1. Sample Data came from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study 1992-1993. The sample used for this study consisted of 6,877 non-Hispanic White men and women.
Married men report more autonomy than married women.
However, other single women report poorer positive relations than married women. Divorced or separated women reported more personal growth than their married counterparts. Conclusions Overall, single midlife adults in the early 1990s continue to do more poorly on measures of psychological well-being than married individuals. However, singles score higher on scales of autonomy and separated or divorced women indicate higher levels of personal growth. Additionally, single men seem to be doing more poorly than their female counterparts.