“Happily Widowed”?
According to the survey: Which relationship status really makes you happiest
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Which relationship status makes us happiest: married, single or maybe separated and in love again? There are now surprising answers to this question, some of which seem a bit unusual.
The common image of happiness in love in our society is that of a married couple. A family with children who have been able to call each other sweethearts since they graduated from school. In the meantime, this assessment is changing more and more – being single is often portrayed positively and being together, but not married, is no longer a rarity. But which relationship status promises the happiest life? An analysis of the SKL Glücksatlas has exciting results.
And the winners are…
The SKL Glücksatlas analyzed their database from the years 2011 to 2019 and came to the following conclusion: Widowed people who have found new love in a new partner are the happiest. On a scale of 0 to 10, this group achieved the highest average score of 7.26. Even just ahead of married and cohabiting people at 7.16. This was followed by single people in a permanent partnership with 7.03 and single people without a partner with 6.99. In general, singles are in a worse position than most people with a partner. Only divorced people with a new lover were below the singles with 6.83 points. This was followed only by widowed people without a partner (6.66) and divorced people without a partner (6.41).
Close, but partnerships win
After all, all people, regardless of their relationship status, rush past half the scale. So none of the constellations is completely unfortunate – and beyond all possibilities there is definitely still room for improvement. In the case of the partnerships that became happy after a divorce or the death of a partner, this did not happen with immediate effect, of course. After the analysis, the widowed persons usually showed a reduced feeling of happiness three years before their death. Oftentimes, this could be due to an ongoing illness, which can be tough on those affected. Only after a few years does life satisfaction increase again. According to the results of the SKL Glücksatlas, well-being already decreases in the year before a divorce. One reason for this could be that the upcoming separation is already known. In the case of the divorced, the happiness values also only improve again over the years.
Incidentally, the participants answered the question about the general life satisfaction, the circumstances for life satisfaction could also be related to other factors and life circumstances. However, if the figures for general life satisfaction are only related to the relationship status, the conclusion is: A relationship makes for happier people. Thousands of people take part in the survey every year.
Sources used: Statista, SKL Glücksatlas