Could staying single be the secret to happiness?
A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Nicosia has found that people are emotionally better off being single than staying in an unhappy or mediocre relationship.
The research was led by Professor Elyakim Kislev from Hebrew University’s Federmann School of Public Policy and Governance and Dr Menelaos Apostolou from the University of Nicosia’s Department of Social Sciences.
Single and happy (photo: Austin Schmid via Unsplash)
Published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, the study analysed 13 waves of data from the Pairfam longitudinal survey, tracking about 12,000 people in Germany over several years.
While people in intimate relationships generally reported higher emotional well-being than those who were single, the researchers found that relationship quality was the decisive factor.
Participants in poor or moderate-quality relationships reported lower life satisfaction and fewer positive emotions than those who were single. Those in good-quality relationships recorded the highest levels of emotional well-being.
“What makes this study unique is that we followed participants over several years to see how their happiness shifted as their relationship status changed,” Professor Kislev said.
“The results clearly indicate that it isn’t simply about being coupled up. The quality of the relationship is the deciding factor for our emotional health.
“If a relationship is poor or even just moderate in quality, an individual’s life satisfaction and positive emotions are significantly lower than if they had just stayed single.”
The study also found small gender differences. Single men were slightly more likely than single women to report negative emotions, while single women reported feeling less secure than single men.
For people weighing whether to remain in an unhappy relationship, the findings point to a clear conclusion: being single is healthier than settling for a poor relationship, while a supportive and fulfilling partnership produces the strongest emotional benefits.
The research paper, “Do relationship changes cause changes in emotional well-being? A longitudinal investigation” appears in the 2026 edition of Personality and Individual Differences. Click here to see the paper
The research paper titled “Do relationship changes cause changes in emotional well-being? A longitudinal investigation is now available in Personality and Individual Differences and can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2026.113670.
