This difficulty is one of the main factors that contribute to singleness today. A question of social context.
People single there are many. But why? Because most cannot maintain relationships.
People who report greater difficulties in maintaining intimate relationships are more likely to be single.
The new one emerged precisely because researchers began to notice that there are more and more single people. Or, at the very least, living alone.
Based on evolutionary perspectives, the team assumed that modern environments differ drastically from past environments: there are more incompatibilities that can harm the functioning of relationships.
Translation: the social structure, the social pressure, it was different decades ago. Or centuries. Or millennia. And there was less freedom, less openness and less support.
Nowadays people are more independent, there is a greater sense of autonomy, there is more supports alternatives.
And this, being positive, also poses the challenge: and maintain the relationship?
A separation turns out to be more frequent, even more natural; or else the person choose not to even start the relationshipcontinues.
The study included data from more than 1,000 people, all from Greece; average of 32 years and included people who were married, in a stable relationship, parents or singles. With a (long) inquiry.
The focus of the 78 questions was: what are the biggest difficulties people can face when trying to maintain an intimate relationship?
Little attention to the partner’s needs, sexual dissatisfaction, recurring conflicts, aggressive behavior during disagreements… These and other points were on the list.
The results were clear: greater difficulty in maintaining a relationship is related to a greater probability of being single.
Women
Among the women surveyed, as perceived difficulties increased from low to moderate levels, the likelihood of being in between relationships, single by choice, or single involuntarily increased greatly.
Looking at the levels established by the researchers, it was concluded that women who have moderate difficulties are generally at the highest risk of being single.
But increases additional difficulty have a impact every time smaller in your relationship status. In other words, more complicated levels were less related to their condition.
Men
For males, the relationship was even more evident: each increase of one unit in perceived difficulty was associated with a 2.36 times increase in the probability of being in relationships and an increase of approximately 1.8 times in the probability of being single by choice.
For them, the Problems of “maintaining” the relationship mainly lead to breakups or the choice to remain alonee no to the inability to find a partner.
In other words, and in general, for men, the greater the difficulty in maintaining relationships, the greater the probability of remaining single. For women, the effect is strong but not linear.
