1887
Volume 2025, Issue 2
  • EISSN: 2309-3927

Abstract

Research on women’s singlehood in Saudi society has often been examined through the lens of “reasons for spinsterhood,” which tends to neglect the psychological and social dimensions of well-being. This study broadens the scope by examining the associations between insecure attachment, mental health, and life satisfaction, with age as a moderator, among never-married Saudi women, while also considering key sociodemographic factors. Using a cross-sectional design, standardized measures were administered to a sample of 504 never-married Saudi women aged 30 and above. The results indicate that women with lower levels of insecure attachment reported better mental health and greater life satisfaction; however, these effects were modest compared with the influence of key sociodemographic factors. Although age appeared to moderate the association between insecure attachment and life satisfaction, this finding should be interpreted cautiously due to the limited age range in the sample. Overall, the results indicate that while insecure attachment contributes to well-being, demographic factors, particularly education, income, and age, are more central predictors of life satisfaction among never-married women. The findings highlight the multifaceted nature of single women’s well-being, which cannot be reduced solely to marital status or attachment insecurity. The study makes a novel contribution by situating singlehood within Saudi Arabia’s ongoing family and social transformation under Vision 2030, where women are increasingly encouraged to pursue education, careers, and social participation. The findings have relevance for broader discussions on never-married women in the Arab and MENA region and invite further scholarly and public debate on singlehood as a lived experience rather than a social problem. Implications for practice are discussed.

© 2025 The Author(s), licensee HBKU Press.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.5339/difi.2025.15
2025-12-24
2026-03-08

Metrics

Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/difi/2025/2/difi.2025.issue2.15.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.5339/difi.2025.15&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E.,& Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Lawrence Erlbaum.
  2. Ali, A. M., Al-Dossary, S. A., Aljaberi, M. A., Atout, M., Alamer, R., Suliman, M. M. H.,& Fekih-Romdhane, F. (2025). The Arabic Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and its three-item version: Factor structure and measurement invariance among university students. Acta Psychologica, 255, 2-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104867
     [Google Scholar]
  3. AlQahtani, S. M.,& Alghamdi, A. K. H. (2025). Unveiling progress: A visual exploration of Saudi women in the workforce. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12:(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05081-7
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Albeladi, A. A. (2024). The challenges of conducting qualitative research in quantitative culture: Saudi Arabia as a case study. The Qualitative Report, 29:(4), 1050-1071https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6272
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Bartholomew, K.,& Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61:(2), 226–244. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.61.2.226
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Böger, A.,& Huxhold, O. (2020). The changing relationship between partnership status and loneliness: Effects related to aging and historical time. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 75:(7), 1423–1432. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gby153
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Retrospect and prospect. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52:(4), 664–678. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1982.tb01456.x
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Carr, D.,& Utz, R. L. (2020). Families in later life: A decade in review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82:(1), 346–363. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12609
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Lawrence Erlbaum.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. DePaulo, B. M.,& Morris, W. L. (2006). The unrecognized stereotyping and discrimination against singles. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15:(5), 251–254. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00446.x
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J.,& Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49:(1), 71–75. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Dozier, M., Stovall-McClough, K. C.,& Albus, K. E. (2008). Attachment and psychopathology in adulthood. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (2nd ed., pp. 718–744). The Guilford Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Esteve, A., Reher, D. S., Treviño, R., Zueras, P.,& Turu, A. (2020). Living alone over the life course: Cross-national variations on an emerging issue. Population and Development Review, 46:(1), 169–189. https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12311
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Falk, R.,& Miller, N. A. (1992). Primer for soft modelling (1st ed.). The University of Akron Press.
  15. Fraley, R. C., Heffernan, M. E., Vicary, A. M.,& Brumbaugh, C. C. (2011). The experiences in close relationships—Relationship Structures Questionnaire: A method for assessing attachment orientations across relationships. Psychological Assessment, 23:(3), 615–625. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022898
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Friedman, M., Rholes, W. S., Simpson, J., Bond, M., Diaz-Loving, R.,& Chan, C. (2010). Attachment avoidance and the cultural fit hypothesis: A cross-cultural investigation. Personal Relationships, 17:(1), 107–126. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2010.01256.x
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Government of Saudi Arabia. (2016). Saudi Vision 2030. https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/
  18. General Authority for Statistics. (2025). Demographic survey 2025: Marital status by age groups. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  19. Hair, J., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M.,& Gudergan, S. P. (2019). Advanced issues in partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Sage.
  20. Hair Jr, J., Sarstedt, M., Hopkins, L.,& Kuppelwieser, V. G. (2014). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM): An emerging tool in business research. European Business Review, 26:(2), 106–121. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-10-2013-0128
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Hamedanchi, A., Zanjari, N., Khankeh, H. R.,& Abolfathi Momtaz, Y. A. (2021). What does it mean to be never married in later life? Application of phenomenology in an aging study. The Qualitative Report, 26:(4), 1232–1247. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4652
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Hazan, C.,& Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52:(3), 511–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.511
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M.,& Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43:(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Hill, M. E. (2020). “You can have it all, just not at the same time”: Why doctoral students are actively choosing singlehood. Gender Issues, 37:(4), 315–339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-020-09249-0
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Hill Roy, L., Park, Y.,& MacDonald, G. (2023). Age moderates the link between relationship desire and life satisfaction among singles. Personal Relationships, 30:(3), 893–912. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12497
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Himawan, K. K., Bambling, M., Underwood, M.,& Edirippulige, S. (2023). In the absence of marriage: Social and religious-based relationships as alternatives to marriage for never-married adults in Indonesia. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 26:(4), 396–420. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2023.2253443
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Joseph, S.,& Zaatari, Z. (2023). Routledge handbook on women in the Middle East. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315165219
  28. Karreman, A.,& Vingerhoets, A. J. (2012). Attachment and well-being: The mediating role of emotion regulation and resilience. Personality and Individual Differences, 53:(7), 821–826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.06.014
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Kislev, E. (2019). Happy singlehood: The rising acceptance and celebration of solo living. University of California Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Lopez, F. G.,& Brennan, K. A. (2000). Dynamic processes underlying adult attachment organization: Toward an attachment theoretical perspective on the healthy and effective self. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47:(3), 283–300. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.47.3.283
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Lu, L.,& Gilmour, R. (2004). Culture and conceptions of happiness: Individual oriented and social oriented SWB. Journal of Happiness Studies, 5:(3), 269–291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-004-8789-5
     [Google Scholar]
  32. MacDonald, G.,& Park, Y. (2022). Associations of attachment avoidance and anxiety with life satisfaction, satisfaction with singlehood, and desire for a romantic partner. Personal Relationships, 29:(1), 163–176. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12416
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Mikulincer, M.,& Shaver, P. R. (2016). Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
  34. Mortelmans, D., Claessens, E.,& Thielemans, G. (2023). Defining and measuring singlehood in family studies. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 15:(3), 485–505. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12520
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Mukherjee, S., Kumar, P.,& Mukherjee, A. (2025). Reimagining singlehood in urban India through intersectional narratives and support systems: An ethnographic study. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 51:(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.70049
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Naguib, R. (2023). Women’s empowerment and public policy in the Arab Gulf States. In Gulf Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6006-4
  37. Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
  38. Park, Y., Page-Gould, E.,& MacDonald, G. (2022). Satisfying singlehood as a function of age and cohort: Satisfaction with being single increases with age after midlife. Psychology and Aging, 37:(5), 626–636. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000695
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Ritchey, F. (2008). The statistical imagination: Elementary statistics for the social sciences (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
  40. Salamah, S. H. (2018). The quality of life, social care and family relationships of older unmarried Saudi women living in Jeddah: A qualitative study [Doctoral dissertation, University of Surrey]. Corpus ID: 150144273.
  41. Schachner, D. A., Shaver, P. R.,& Gillath, O. (2008). Attachment style and long-term singlehood. Personal Relationships, 15:(4), 479–491. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2008.00211.x
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Sharp, E. A.,& Ganong, L. (2011). “I’m a loser, I’m not married, let’s just all look at me”: Ever-single women’s perceptions of their social environment. Journal of Family Issues, 32:(7), 956–980. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513x10392537
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Shousha, N., Aldweek, R., Sadaoui, M.,& Mossaad, D. (2022). The culture and gender differences in stigma of spinsterhood: Cross-culture study (Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia). Dirasat Human and Social Sciences, 49:(4), 45–59. https://doi.org/10.35516/hum.v49i4.2032
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Şirin, H. D.,& Doğan, R. Ş. (2021). Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Experiences in Close Relationships–Relationship Structures Questionnaire (ECR-RS). SAGE Open, 11:(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211006056
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Spielmann, S. S., MacDonald, G., Joel, S.,& Impett, E. A. (2013). Settling for less out of fear of being single. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105:(6), 1049–1073. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034628
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Spielmann, S. S., MacDonald, G., Joel, S.,& Impett, E. A. (2016). Longing for ex-partners out of fear of being single. Journal of Personality, 84:(6), 799–808. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12222
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Wang, C. D. C., Scalise, D. A., Barajas-Munoz, I. A., Julio, K.,& Gomez, A. (2016). Attachment, acculturation, and psychosomatic complaints among Hispanic American university students. Journal of College Counseling, 19:(1), 45–60. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocc.12030
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Wahring, I. V., Neyer, F. J., Hoppmann, C. A., Ram, N.,& Gerstorf, D. (2024). Men and women transitioning to singlehood in young adulthood and midlife. Psychology and Aging, 40:(2), 117-136 https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000859
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Wei, M., Russell, D. W.,& Zakalik, R. A. (2005). Adult attachment, social self-efficacy, self-disclosure, loneliness, and subsequent depression for freshman college students: A longitudinal study. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52:(4), 602–614. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.52.4.602
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Wei, M., Russell, D. W., Mallinckrodt, B.,& Vogel, D. L. (2007). The Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR)-Short Form: Reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 88:(2), 187–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890701268041
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Yoon, S.,& Park, H. (2025). Gender-role attitudes and marriage desires among never married adults in South Korea. Journal of Marriage and Family, 87, 2167-2177. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.13114
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.5339/difi.2025.15
Loading
Singlehood in a cultural context: The wellbeing of never married Saudi women
Doha International Family Institute Journal 2025, 15 (2025); https://doi.org/10.5339/difi.2025.15
/content/journals/10.5339/difi.2025.15
/content/journals/10.5339/difi.2025.15
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): singlehood, mental health, attachment insecurity, life satisfaction, structural equation modeling, Saudi women, family dynamics

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error