Project description
The rise of singlehood in Europe
Marriage and fertility rates are declining. While single life is more visible than ever, research remains limited and inconsistent. The ERC-funded SINGLE project aims to address this knowledge gap. It will conduct a Europe-wide study of prevalence. It will map the landscape of singlehood, combining population-level data with individual motivations and experiences. The project will study the social, economic and cultural factors influence inequality among singles and how their time, well-being and support networks vary. The findings are expected to provide a holistic understanding of singlehood as a diverse, meaningful and socially significant experience.
Objective
Amid declining marriage and fertility rates, singlehood is rapidly gaining scholarly attention. Yet, singlehood scholarship is remarkably fragmented and underdeveloped. Existing theories are divided between narratives of singlehood as an unfavorable outcome or an empowering life choice. Moreover, existing frameworks are limited by a glaring inconsistency in the measurement of singlehood, an overwhelming focus on young adults, and a general neglect of cross-national and intersectional approaches. These limitations undermine our ability to establish a comprehensive, holistic framework that answers fundamental questions: (1) what the scope of singlehood is in the adult population and (2) how social stratification is reproduced within the single population.
SINGLE proposes to resolve these tensions by taking an unprecedented, comprehensive, comparative approach that bridges demographic and sociological debates and pays attention to the diverse challenges and opportunities that single life offers.
First, SINGLE takes a population approach by establishing a Demography of Singlehood framework that will produce and disseminate estimates of the prevalence, composition, and duration of singlehood across Europe using various large-scale secondary data sources. Through novel data collection, SINGLE will also offer pioneering insights into singles’ self-identification and motivation to be single to improve our understanding of selection and terminology in singlehood research.
Second, SINGLE takes a stratification approach to expand our understanding of social inequality within the single population. SINGLE will disentangle how demographic, economic, and cultural forces systematically shape singles’ unequal outcomes within and across countries. By documenting singles’ time use, well-being, perceived pressure to partner, and access to support systems, SINGLE will reframe our knowledge of the complexity and diversity of European singlehood.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
08193 Barcelona
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.