Do relationship changes cause changes in emotional well-being? A longitudinal investigation

The current study tests the hypothesis, derived from evolutionary theory, that relationship status constitutes a significant predictor of emotional well-being. We analyzed data from thirteen waves of the Pairfam study, a longitudinal project with a representative sample of 12,000 German participants, using mixed-model analysis. Our results indicate that participants' emotional well-being was significantly higher during waves in which they were in an intimate relationship compared to waves in which they were single. We also found that singlehood was associated with more negative emotions for men than for women, though the observed difference was small. Furthermore, participants experienced higher emotional well-being when in a good-quality intimate relationship than when they were single or in a poor- or moderate-quality relationship. Participants' emotional well-being was also higher when they were single than when they were in a poor- or moderate-quality intimate relationship. These differences were generally small, although the effect on loneliness was considerable. Our findings make a strong case that changes in relationship status, including changes in relationship quality, lead to changes in emotional well-being.