ObjectiveRelationship science has developed several theories to explain how and why people enter and maintain satisfying relationships. Less is known about why some people remain single, despite increasing rates of singlehood throughout the world. Using one of the most widely studied and robust theories—attachment theory—we aim to identify distinct sub‐groups of singles and examine whether these sub‐groups differ in their experience of singlehood and psychosocial outcomes.MethodAcross two studies of single adults (Ns = 482 and 400), we used latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify distinct sub‐groups of singles.ResultsBoth studies revealed four distinct profiles consistent with attachment theory: (1) secure; (2) anxious; (3) avoidant; and (4) fearful‐avoidant. Furthermore, the four sub‐groups of singles differed in theoretically distinct ways in their experience of singlehood and on indicators of psychosocial well‐being.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that singles are a heterogeneous group of individuals that can be meaningfully differentiated based on individual differences in attachment security.

中文翻译：

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单身经历的多样性：测试单身亚群的依恋理论模型


客观关系科学已经发展了多种理论来解释人们如何以及为何进入并维持令人满意的关系。尽管世界各地的单身率不断上升，但为什么有些人仍然单身，人们却知之甚少。使用研究最广泛、最有力的理论之一——依恋理论——我们的目标是识别不同的单身亚群，并检查这些亚群在单身经历和心理社会结果方面是否存在差异。方法跨越两项针对单身成年人的研究（氮s = 482 和 400），我们使用潜在特征分析（LPA）来识别单身人士的不同亚组。结果这两项研究都揭示了与依恋理论一致的四种不同特征：（1）安全； (2) 着急； （3）回避型； (4)恐惧回避型。此外，单身人士的四个子群体在单身经历和社会心理健康指标方面在理论上存在不同的差异。结论这些研究结果表明，单身人士是一个异质的个体群体，可以根据依恋的个体差异进行有意义的区分安全。