Single People Are Also Happy, Study

Single people can be happy too, says a new study released Friday morning, according to newsweek.

"It's a well-documented finding that single people tend to be less happy compared to those in a relationship, but that may not be true for everyone," said lead researcher Yuthika Girme, a psychology Ph.D. candidate at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, in a press release. Girme, according to her academic profile, studies ways to "maximize the health benefits arising from supportive relationships."

When they examined 4,000 New Zealanders, research showed that people with "avoidance social goals" can be happier with no relationship even as they like to avoid conflict. They also discovered that "some previous research has shown that being single usually is associated with slightly lower life satisfaction and poorer physical and psychological health."

The study was published online in Social Psychological and Personality Science

One-fifth of participants between the ages of 18 and 94 years were found to be single. When they were asked to identify their "avoidance goals," measuring their willingness to go through relationship conflicts, it was found that those who had "high avoidance goals" were happier single. But those who did not mind conflict were more dissatisfied with no relationship.

"Single people also can have satisfying lives," said Girme.

While fear of making the wrong choices can lead to some bad choices, most people, single or married, are convinced that they made the right choice, according to discovery.

What have been the normal reactions to the study?

Strangely, single adults in the US are now more than married adults, even as divorce also rises. Singles feel that they have a good option now. Krimzon, a semiprofessional rapper from Phoenix, was nonplussed by the new findings. "Yeah, of course I'm happy being single," he told Newsweek. "I'm not tied down by a relationship, and I can do my own thing. Like I always say, I'm single, so let's mingle."