Singlehood and Attunement of Self-Esteem to Friendships.

ABSTRACT: Romantic relationships activate a process of psychological attunement whereby self-esteem becomes responsive to the romantic bond, thereby potentially benefitting relationship quality and bolstering self-esteem. Yet some people are romantically single, raising the question: Do single people also exhibit psychological attunement? In a 2-year longitudinal study of young adults (N = 279), we test whether singles psychologically attune to their friendships. Multilevel modeling revealed that within-person fluctuations in friendship quality predicted within-person fluctuations in self-esteem, and this association was stronger for singles than for partnered people. A cross-sectional mediation analysis also revealed that singles invested more in their friendships than partnered people, and

SUBMITTER: Fisher AN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8358568 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature