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Understanding the Demography and Stratification of Singlehood in Europe

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)

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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)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

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.

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.

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.

(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG

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Host institution

CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS DEMOGRAFICOS
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 1 497 563,00
Address
CERDANYOLA V GR UNIVERSITAT AUT BARCELONA EDIFICI E
08193 BARCELONA
Spain

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Region
Este Cataluña Barcelona
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost

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.

€ 1 497 563,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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