Speaking of Psychology is taking a winter break, so we're rerunning one of our favorite episodes from the past.

In 2022, I talked to psychologist Jeff McDonald about how more Americans are single than ever before,

and many of them are happy to stay that way.

We hope you enjoy this episode from the archives.

Speaking of Psychology, we'll be back with new episodes in January.

Thank you for listening.

We talk a lot on this podcast about relationships, and there's no doubt that relationships

can be an important driver of many people's health, happiness, and well-being. But focusing solely

on partnerships or romantic relationships

misses a crucial fact. More Americans than ever before are single, and many are perfectly happy

to stay that way. A 2019 Pew Research Center poll found that 3 and 10 U.S. adults are single.

They're not married, living with a partner, or in a committed

relationship. Among those singles, half said they were not interested in dating or looking

for a relationship. Meanwhile, looking simply at marriage rates, we find the number of singles is even

higher. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 50% of American adults are unmarried, or close to 127 million people.

Those singles are a diverse bunch.

Some have never been married. Some are divorced, some widowed.

They are older or younger. Some are parents. Others have no children.

All of those factors, and many others may affect how people experience

singlehood. So how is relationship status related to well-being? What makes some

people happy with singlehood while others are not? Is there a societal stigma

against singles and if so how does that stigma affect people's lives? Why is

...