Social Capital, Happiness, and the Unmarried: a Multilevel Analysis of 32 European Countries

Elyakim Kislev*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Vast changes to the status of marriage in modern society have impacted the demographic makeup of many countries. Particularly in the Western world, a growing portion of the population comprises of singles that may be separated, divorced, widowed, or never married. Faced with this change, it is crucial for researchers and policymakers to understand the mechanisms behind the well-being of the unmarried. This paper explores the relationship between social capital and happiness for different types of marital groups. By performing a multilevel analysis on data from 32 countries, this research demonstrates not only that singles present higher social capital which is positively correlated with higher happiness, but also derive greater happiness from equal levels of social capital. Furthermore, this paper explores potential consequences for further research in social capital, happiness, and marital status.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1475-1492
Number of pages18
JournalApplied Research in Quality of Life
Volume15
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Nov 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, The International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS) and Springer Nature B.V.

Keywords

  • Cohabitation
  • Happiness
  • Marriage
  • Singles
  • Social capital

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