Untangling the Threads of Singlehood: Examining Relationship Pedestal Beliefs, Attachment Styles and Singlehood Satisfaction
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Abstract
People who have relationship related insecurities may struggle with being single – but why? This study aims to explore the association between attachment anxiety and avoidance on singlehood satisfaction, and whether this is mediated by relationship pedestal beliefs (i.e., the belief that people need a romantic partner to be truly happy). It utilized a self-report questionnaire completed by 504 single participants. Overall, the results were mixed. People who were higher in attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were both less likely to be satisfied with singlehood status and were more likely to endorse relationship pedestal beliefs. However, contrary to our hypotheses, relationship pedestal beliefs were not associated with singlehood satisfaction, and thus was not a significant mediator for explaining why insecure individuals were less satisfied with singlehood. Taken together, the results of the mediating model illustrate that other potential variables may be responsible for why highly anxious or avoidant single people tend to report dissatisfaction with their singlehood status.
Faculty Supervisor: Yuthika Girme, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University
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