LIVING ALONG DURING MIDDLE ADULTHOOD

During the lost half-century, the number of one-person households has consistently increased faster than other households. An overlooked part of this process has been the adults who live alone while they are between 25 and 54 years of age. Through recent decades, the growth in the number of these households has been affected by the longer delay before marriage, increase in divorce, and a decline in traditional family values. A majority of these lone adults have never married, have had college education, have had no children, have been dating, have good or excellent health, and are working for pay. Whether living alone during middle adulthood is, on balance, beneficial to the person, to the person's significant others, or to society in general depends on the circumstances.