Stress of Singlehood: Marital Status, Domain-Specific Stress, and Anxiety in a National U.S. Sample

The current study compared perceived stress among married and single individuals across a variety of life domains in order to understand (1) the relationship between marital status and psychosocial mechanisms of stress and (2) the degree to which stress experienced in different domains is associated with other health problems (i.e., anxiety). Using survey data from a large national U.S. sample (N = 6,955), we used multiple regression and mediation analyses to investigate the role of marital status on perceived stress associated with social commitments, family commitments, loneliness, and economy/money; and we examined how these domain-specific stressors influenced daily self-reported anxiety. Marital status was a significant predictor of perceived stress: singlehood was positively correlated with perceived stress, specifically the stresses associated with social commitments, loneliness, and economy/money. These domain-specific stressors also mediated the relationship between marital status and anxiety. The findings suggest that marital status can lead to differential exposure to stressors and risks for mental health problems. We concluded that marital status can have important implications for social behavior, health, and well-being, and its effects on stress should be further investigated to reduce negative health outcomes for the growing demographic group of singles in the U.S.