For Many, Path to 'Self-Expansion' Is the Single Life

If you think life really only starts once you've coupled up, a new study would like a word. Researchers looking at more than 700 single adults say solo status can offer its own brand of "self-expansion"—the chance to try new things, build skills, and widen your social world, reports the Washington Post. "Self-expansion theory has assumed that self-expansion happens in the context of close relationships," says Yuthika Girme, co-author of the study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. "While that is true, our findings also highlight the potential benefits of personal growth and expansion during solo activities."

Those who believed being single gave them room to grow were more likely to hike, take classes, explore new restaurants and hobbies, and reported feeling more satisfied with life and with being single, plus more autonomous and connected to others. Most didn't do it alone, either: up to 82% turned to friends and family, not romantic partners, as adventure buddies.

The catch: mindset seems stubborn. People who already felt good about being single were more likely to see it as fertile ground for growth; those anxious about being alone or convinced a partner was essential for happiness didn't shift much, even after researchers tried to "reframe" singlehood for them. "The important variable may not simply be whether someone is single, but what being single means to that person," says psychologist Avigail Lev, who was not involved in the research.

Benefits from self-expanding activities also appeared short-term and the largely young sample may not reflect older adults. Still, outside experts say the takeaway isn't that single beats partnered, but that singlehood shouldn't be treated as a holding pattern to escape—it can be a phase for deliberate exploration and choice. "Seizing the opportunity to try new things, meet new people and develop new hobbies can significantly improve not only the way you feel about being single, but also how you feel about your life in general," says lead author Elina Moreno of the University of Toronto, per Phys.org.