The technical and scientific activities within the SINGLETON project have been geared towards both publishing and preparing data collection. From a research perspective, several topics have currently been explored. Mortelmans, Claessens & Thielemans i) designed a framework for the definition and measurement of singlehood in family studies, which ii) they then empirically operationalised, iii) Van Gasse and Mortelmans analysed voluntariness in singlehood beyond the dichotomy framework, and iv) Bracke, Van Gasse and Mortelmans explored life course strategies in singlehood transitions. Concerning identity and social structures, v) Van Gasse, Claessens and Mortelmans investigated the interplay between identity and regional backgrounds, vi) Van Gasse and Mortelmans examined single parenthood and alloparenting by childless singles, and vii) Claessens and Mortelmans explored gender and age differences in reasons for singlehood. Finally, relating relationship dynamics to psychological perspectives, ‘t Hoen, Claessens and Mortelmans viii) conceptualised the experience of long-term waiting in relationships and ix) explored the link between self-definitions of singlehood and loneliness. Together, it depicts the current main achievements of the project: (1) mixed-methods to provide nuanced insights ; (2) empirical and conceptual frameworks that broaden the understanding of singlehood, while challenging limited (binary) perspectives; and (3) the provision of fundamental theoretical and empirical contributions to interdisciplinary discussions in family studies.
The second main activity within the SINGLETON project pertains to the preparation of multi-wave, multi-actor and multi-method data collection among (young) adults in Belgium. Data collection for the quantitative online survey of the first wave commenced mid-March, followed by the launch of the qualitative data collection mid-April. The online survey was finalised at the end of June, after which data cleaning commenced. This entailed checks of the entire dataset, including missing values, ID variable construction, and anonymisation. In September, the coding of the open-ended questions was completed and logged. The finalisation of the dataset and related documents is planned by the end of 2025, including the metadata, technical reporting, and codebook translation. The qualitative data collection is ongoing, with finalisation planned at the end of November.
Concurrently, preparations for the second wave of data collection are underway. This entails adapting both the online survey and qualitative questionnaires from the first wave, issuing new participation invitations to the respondents, and updating the sample information from the Belgian National Register.
