Introduction

In recent decades, singleness has progressively transitioned from a transient phase or marginal status to an expanding, visible, and increasingly accepted lifestyle pattern globally (Avilés, 2024; Kislev, 2019, 2025; Reimondos et al., 2025; Rosenfeld, 2025; Yeung, 2022). Historically defined in opposition to marriage or cohabitation, singleness was long perceived as a temporary stage between major family transitions (Bergström & Brée, 2023). Despite intuitive familiarity with the concept, arriving at a comprehensive, consensus-based definition remains challenging (Bergström & Brée, 2023). Conceptually, singleness carries a dual nature: it is characterized by social pressures, vulnerability, and marginalization on one hand, and autonomy, personal growth, and self-actualization on the other, with many single individuals simultaneously navigating both dimensions (Dennett et al., 2025). Although evolving social norms have created more legitimate space for single life (Avilés, 2024), the psychological well-being of single individuals remains deeply intertwined with their emotional goals and the social pressures embedded within their socio-cultural environment (Horton et al., 2025).



Globally, 40% to 50% of adults report being single (Kislev, 2019), reflecting a continuous rise in the population of single women. Approximately 3.4% of women reach their late thirties without marrying (DePaulo, 2019), and projections suggest that by 2030, nearly 45% of women aged 25 to 44 will remain single, driven by the prioritization of professional development and the appeal of independence (Collins, 2011). In Iran, empirical data similarly indicate an upward trend in singleness and delayed marriage. After age 35, the probability of marriage for Iranian women decreases significantly (Bagi, 2022). According to the 2016 national census, the number of never-married women aged 20 and older was approximately 4.368 million, with the phenomenon spreading from metropolises to smaller cities (Talebpour & Beiranvand, 2022). In the traditional context of Yazd, this trend is expanding at a slower but steady pace, where approximately 36,000 single women aged 20 to 49 (never-married, divorced, or widowed) reside, and about 5% of never-married women act as heads of households (Askari Nadoushan, 2021). Despite these shifts, marriage retains a dominant cultural, religious, and social status in Iran (Bagi, 2022).

While modern health paradigms define well-being as a multidimensional construct encompassing subjective psychological factors (Ryff, 1989) and social dimensions (Keyes, 1998), most Iranian studies on singleness have relied on quantitative methods, leaving the lived experiences, meaning-making, and psychosocial well-being of single women under-researched. Consequently, this qualitative study aimed to explore the lived experience of psychosocial well-being among never-married women aged 35 and older within the socio-cultural context of Yazd.

Theoretical Framework and Literature Review

To analyze the structural and agentic aspects of this phenomenon, this study integrates modernization and the Second Demographic Transition (SDT) theories at the macro level (Erfani, 2019; Inglehart & Welzel, 2005), which attribute delayed marriage to rising education, urbanization, and individualization. To bridge structural shifts with individual experiences, Giddens’ (2023) and Castells’ (2004) theories of late modernity, reflexive identity, and gender-role transformation are utilized, highlighting how singleness is negotiated through agency. Finally, at the micro-interactional level, Goffman’s (2009, 2012) stigma theory and symbolic interactionism explain how deviation from dominant marital norms leads to social labeling, stereotyping, and “singlism” (DePaulo & Morris, 2006), thereby directly impacting the psychosocial well-being and social acceptance of single women.

Methodology

This qualitative study was conducted in 2023 among 15 never-married women aged 35 and older in Yazd, Iran. Yazd was selected because it represents a socio-cultural context where traditional family values and religious norms remain influential, while elements of modernity are also increasingly visible (Abbasi-Shavazi & Askari-Nodoushan, 2012; Askari Nadoushan, 2021). This made it an appropriate setting for exploring the lived experience of singleness and psychosocial well-being.

Participants, aged 35 to 55, had diverse educational, occupational, and residential backgrounds. Data were collected mainly through in-depth face-to-face interviews, with a few telephone interviews conducted due to access limitations or participants’ schedules. Each interview lasted between 45 and 60 minutes, and sampling continued until data saturation was reached.

The data were analyzed using thematic analysis based on Braun and Clarke’s approach (2006). After transcription, interviews were read repeatedly, meaning units were identified, and initial codes were generated. These codes were then organized into subthemes and main themes through constant comparison and review, leading to the extraction of the overarching theme of the study.

To ensure trustworthiness, member checking, repeated review of the data, transparent description of the research context, and careful documentation of the analytical process were employed. Participants were also informed of their right to withdraw at any stage. In addition, the study followed the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) to enhance methodological transparency (O’Brien et al., 2014).

Key Findings

The findings indicated that the lived experience of never-married women aged 35 and over was shaped by a complex interaction of personal, familial, cultural, and structural conditions. The overarching theme emerging from the analysis was “suspended agency and creative adaptation.” This theme reflected a situation in which participants were neither fully powerless nor fully autonomous; rather, their capacity for action was continuously constrained, negotiated, and reformulated within everyday life.

Five main themes were identified: fear-laden living, erosion of agency within family constraints, structural-economic constraints, living in a state of marital limbo, and social adaptation. Participants described persistent anxieties related to aging, loneliness, childlessness, emotional deprivation, and uncertainty about the future. At the family level, although the family provided support, it also imposed control, obligations, and limitations on independent decision-making. At the structural level, economic insecurity, unstable employment, high living costs, and limited institutional support constrained opportunities for both marriage and autonomous living.

At the same time, participants were not passive. They employed various adaptive strategies, including self-awareness, flexibility, acceptance of circumstances, hope for the future, prioritization of life, and redefining attitudes toward singlehood, in order to preserve their agency and psychological and social balance.

Conclusion

The study concludes that the psychosocial well-being of never-married women aged 35 and over cannot be understood merely in relation to marital status. Rather, it must be interpreted within the broader interplay of agency and structure in a socio-cultural context where traditional expectations surrounding marriage coexist with modern processes of education, individualization, and changing gender roles. In this context, women’s agency remains suspended between aspiration and constraint as they navigate family pressures, structural barriers, and social expectations surrounding marriage.

Therefore, singleness should not be treated simply as a private or individual condition, but as a socially situated life experience shaped by the interaction of individual, familial, cultural, and structural factors. Enhancing the psychosocial well-being of single women requires support systems that promote economic security, safe and independent living, social acceptance, personal autonomy, and greater recognition of diverse pathways to a meaningful life. Given the small sample and the specific cultural context of Yazd, these findings should be interpreted within the experiences of the participants and should not be generalized uncritically to other populations or cultural settings.