Singlehood and social identity: Does identifying with other singles mitigate the negative effects of perceived discrimination on wellbeing?

Single people tend to experience lower wellbeing than coupled people. One explanation for this phenomenon is that single people experience discrimination, which can negatively impact psychological wellbeing. Using data across two studies composed of single university students (N = 128) and single people from the community (N = 67), I examined whether identifying strongly with other singles might buffer the adverse effects of discrimination on wellbeing. The results demonstrated some inconsistent effects: greater singlehood commonality mitigated the negative impact of perceived discrimination on wellbeing in a sample of young singletons (Study 1), but exacerbated the negative impact of perceived discrimination on wellbeing in a community sample of singletons (Study 2). These findings hold implications for understanding the potential costs versus benefits of single people’s group identification.