Psychologists revealed the dangers of prolonged loneliness without relationships

Scientists have found out: prolonged loneliness in youth negatively affects mental health despite fashionable trends

A team of Swiss scientists conducted a large-scale study refuting the popular idea that living without a partner is a path to self-realization. Specialists from the University of Zurich tracked the psychological state of more than 17,000 young people from Germany and the United Kingdom, observing them from adolescence to 29 years of age. The results of the work were published in the authoritative scientific journal Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Data analysis revealed that men, people with high levels of education, as well as young adults who already have a reduced level of subjective well-being remain without romantic relationships the longest.

According to Michael Kramer, senior researcher at the Department of Psychology, the results confirm that both socio-demographic factors (such as education) and psychological characteristics (well-being and life satisfaction) affect the likelihood of entering into first relationships. Stronger orientation towards education, as in previous sociological studies, is associated with postponing relationships.

Researchers also compared the dynamics of well-being in those who remained without a partner for a long time and those who started relationships later. It turned out that with prolonged loneliness, life satisfaction decreases, feelings of loneliness intensify, and symptoms of depression increase.

These trends were similar for both men and women. In adolescence, the differences between groups were minimal, but over time became more pronounced.

When young people entered romantic relationships, their well-being improved markedly: life satisfaction increased, feelings of loneliness decreased - both in the short and long term.

"Our results show that prolonged loneliness is associated with moderate risks to well-being," noted Michael Kramer.

According to him, the longer a person remains without a partner, the stronger the differences in well-being accumulate, and reduced well-being, in turn, increases the likelihood of remaining lonely further. This can especially complicate entering into relationships.