Celibacy is not a scourge. It would even allow us to build our future life on healthy foundations, as a new study shows us.
We don’t always choose our single status. However, while it is often perceived by society as negative, celibacy could in fact have a positive contribution to the construction of life and the future. This is a study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family published on November 17 which tells us this.
Evaluate the “positive” effects of singleness on life
This was carried out to assess the positive consequences of celibacy on personal development. “Several studies have shown that young single people view being single as an opportunity to focus on their development, such as building a group of friends, investing in education or a career, and learning about life. by themselves. Such investments could be important throughout life.” justified a few days ago Lonneke van den Berg, author on the study, to the magazine Psy Post.
With another researcher, Ellen Verbakel, she therefore studied data collected by the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) from 1984 to 2019 including information on income, housing, life satisfaction and life of family. 1003 participants were selected and separated into two groups:
- Those who left the parental home while being single and living alone initially (around their twenties);
- Those who were already in a relationship or got into a relationship very quickly.
Celibacy at 20 is the most profitable for the future
The study gave rise to several positive findings among participants who had been single at twenty, or at least before the age of 25, compared to their peers who were already in a relationship:
At men’s, the results showed life satisfaction was more affected by a separation among those who had been in a relationship quickly. The longer men remained single before forming a relationship, the weaker the consequences of a breakup later in life. Among women, the difference was smaller. This would mean that experiencing celibacy during your twenties would be the guarantee of a more fulfilling love life later.
In women, the positive arises elsewhere: women who were single in their twenties learned to be more financially independent, earlier. A habit that they would have continued later even as a couple. “Among women, we found that the income of those who had previously been single was already higher before separation”explique Lonneke van den Berg.
Morality: celibacy at 20 would be a first step towards emotional and financial independence, or the first stone of a fulfilling life in the following years. An argument to repeat to young adults who are languishing over not having yet found love!
