Research note: Singlehood and hope in Japan

Objective: We examine the effects of being single - both never married and previously married - on the feeling of hope, with consideration of how this relationship varies by cohort, gender, and income. Background: In many societies, more people are marrying later, or forgoing marriage entirely, thus making singlehood in midlife more common. Japan has experienced large increases in age at marriage as well as increases in the percentage of those who are never married at age 50, resulting in being labeled a "hyper-solo society" (Kottmann 2021). Yet, we know little about the effect of singlehood on hope. Method: Data come from the 2007-2018 Japanese Life Course Panel Survey for the Middle-aged (born 1966-1971) and the Youth (born 1972-1986). The sample includes 4,156 respondents, representing 37,393 person-years. We estimate fixed-effects models of hope. Results: We find that, net of life satisfaction, health, and other variables, being never married is negatively associated with hope for men in the middle-aged cohort and women in the young cohort. For women in the young cohort, the adverse effect of being never married on hope diminishes at higher income levels. Conclusion: With a focus on hope, a unique measure of subjective wellbeing that centers future orientation, this study highlights the role of singlehood in shaping perspectives on the future. - Appendix: https://ubp.uni-bamberg.de/jfr/index.php/jfr/article/view/1121/855