Bad relationships and the fear of being single

Ever wondered why your otherwise brilliant friends always seem to partner up with less-than-ideal mates? A new University of Toronto study could help explain why. Led by Stephanie Spielmann, a postdoctoral researcher in the psychology department, the study found that the fear of being single is a meaningful predictor of settling for less in relationships among both men and women. The results are published in the December edition of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology . "Those with stronger fears about being single are willing to settle for less in their relationships," says Spielmann. "Sometimes they stay in relationships they aren't happy in, and sometimes they want to date people who aren't very good for them. "Now we understand that people's anxieties about being single seem to play a key role in these types of unhealthy relationship behaviours." Investigators surveyed several samples of North American adults, consisting of U of'T undergraduates and community members from Canada and the U.S. The average age of those sampled was around 30, but respondents varied in age from 17 to 78. One surprising finding was that those who feared being single seemed to recognize that they were making poor decisions about who to date.