Mapping life satisfaction over the first years of cohabitation among former singles living alone in UK and Germany

Summary

Objective:

As social norms and relationship dynamics evolve, it is important to examine how transitions from singlehood to partnership, cohabitation, and marriage relate to well-being.

Method:

Using data from two large panel studies in the UK and Germany (1984–2019), we identified N = 27,459 individuals who reported being single and living alone at least once. Analyses focused on a subset (N = 1103; Mage = 38.35, SDage = 13.87; 43.8% women) who later entered a relationship and moved in with a partner.

Results:

Life satisfaction increased over the short to medium term after cohabitation across most socio-demographic groups. The increase peaked in the year of moving in (Δ ≈ 0.48 SD) and remained above pre-transition levels for the 2 subsequent years analyzed. Those who had found a partner one year before had already achieved significantly higher life satisfaction, while cohabitation showed no additional effect. Marriage showed a short-lived additional effect in the early 1990s, but not more recently. Lower-income individuals experienced a stronger post-peak decline.

Conclusion:

Findings suggest that well-being increases are more closely aligned with relationship formation than with cohabitation or marriage. Among participants already in a relationship, increases in well-being were observed prior to cohabitation, suggesting anticipatory effects.