Involuntary Singlehood: Investigating the Effects of Sexual Functioning, BMI, and Having Children from Previous Relationships

Singlehood that is, not having an intimate partner, constitutes a common state in contemporary post-industrial societies. The current research aimed to identify some of the factors that make people more likely to be involuntarily single, meaning that they want to be in an intimate relationship but they face difficulties in attracting a partner. More specifically, we investigated the effects of sexual functioning, BMI (Body Mass Index), and having children from previous relationships on singlehood status. Using a sample of 1,188 Greek-speaking participants, we found that poorer sexual functioning was associated with higher probability to be involuntarily single than in an intimate relationship, and more years spent as single. Higher BMI did not predict relationship status, but for women, it was associated with more years being single. We also found that, men who had children from previous relationships, were more likely to be in an intimate relationship than involuntarily single.