Lone Stars

Hmmm...I hope none of my friends ever get married!

Lone Stars: Being Single

The soulmate culture insists that one person can satisfy all your emotional needs, says DePaulo. "But that's like putting all of your money in one stock and hoping it's not Enron."

"Single people are more likely to have a good relationship investment strategy. They tend to have a diversified portfolio of relationships—friends, siblings, colleagues—and to value a number of them," says DePaulo. "They have not invested their entire emotional capital in one person." Having a broad social network is physiologically as well as emotionally protective, although society perceives singles as psychologically vulnerable precisely because they lack the built-in support system of a spouse.

A broad array of friendships also appears to be a developmental plus. "Having a number of relationships allows you to develop different parts of yourself and a more complex, autonomous self," Trimberger finds