More People Are Living Without Partners. Here's What It Means.

“Looking across a range of measures of economic and social status, unpartnered adults generally have different - often worse - outcomes than those who are married or cohabiting.”

A new study from Pew Research explores how and why a rising number of adults in America are living alone without a spouse or partner. More than just documenting that it's happening, the report explores some of the economic and cultural implications.

This shift in the idea of how we define “family” and what the term even means inspired an entire chapter in my upcoming book Beyond Diversity. The Pew report points out some sobering findings about the career, economic success and social status of these unpartnered individuals, and shows that there remains a bias in most societies toward those who do choose a partner versus those who remain single.