점점 늘어가는 1인 가구… 정말 독신은 불행할까?
행복한 싱글라이프를 위한 안내서!

2018년 통계청 인구총조사에 의하면 한국의 1인 가구 수는 584만이라고 한다. 2000년에는 222만 가구였다. 17년 만에 2배 이상 늘어난 셈이다. 2018년 기준 1인 가구는 29.3%로 매우 큰 비중을 차지했다. 이제는 바야흐로 독신 전성기다. 미디어에서는 혼자 사는 사람들이 주연인 드라마나 예능이 큰 인기를 끌고 있다. 이제 독신은 우리 사회의 자연스러운 가구 형태 중 하나가 되었다..

히브리 대학교에서 독신과 사회 정책을 연구하는 엘리야킴 키슬레브 교수는 《혼자 살아도 괜찮아》에서 모든 사회 구성원이 혼자 사는 삶의 방식을 인정할 때 얻을 수 있는 장점을 설명한다. 그리고 급증하고 있는 독신주의자들이 어떻게 본인의 의지에 따라 삶을 살 수 있는지 그 방법을 제시한다. 저자는 인터뷰와 양적 연구, 그리고 독신에 관한 광범위한 자료 분석을 토대로 여전히 결혼만을 장려하는 사회 구조와 정책이 가득한 세상에서 독신들이 어떻게 만족스러운 삶을 살 수 있는지에 대한 획기적인 통찰을 전해준다.

저자는 독신들이 사회적 네트워크를 키우고 혁신적인 공동체를 만들어 사회적 편견과 차별에 효과적으로 대처하는 방법을 논의한다. 독신들이 새로운 방식으로 사회적, 가족적 유대감을 강화할 방법을 독자들도 함께 고민해볼 것을 촉구한다. 또한 독신들의 요구를 충족시키기 위해 교육가와 정책 입안자, 도시 계획가가 할 수 있는 일들을 모색한다.
이 책은 데이터 분석을 통해 1인 가구가 만들어낸 변화를 전 세계적 관점에서 조명한다. 또한 독신 인구 증가 현상에 대한 통찰을 바탕으로 혼자 사는 사람들이 행복하고 축복받은 삶을 누릴 수 있게 돕는다. 《혼자 살아도 괜찮아》는 독신에 대한 훌륭한 책이자 학계와 정계 그리고 사회 다방면의 리더들에게도 적극적인 실천을 촉구하는 책이다.

This paper provides an examination of seven groups of first- and second-generation immigrants in Western Europe. The aim of this study is to track the trajectories of these immigrants’ economic and social assimilation and to compare them. Data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) are integrated here in a multilevel analysis. Findings show that while Western European immigrants show an improvement in economic indicators over time and generations, they show no improvement in social indicators. Thus, this study proposes a model of dual assimilation, which more closely reflects the Western European context than existing models.

Vast changes to the status of marriage in modern society have impacted the demo-

graphic makeup of many countries. Particularly in the Western world, a growing

portion of the population comprises of singles that may be separated, divorced,

widowed, or never married. Faced with this change, it is crucial for researchers and

policymakers to understand the mechanisms behind the well-being of the unmarried.

This paper explores the relationship between social capital and happiness for different

types of marital groups. By performing a multilevel analysis on data from 32 countries,

this research demonstrates not only that singles present higher social capital which is

positively correlated with higher happiness, but also derive greater happiness from

equal levels of social capital. Furthermore, this paper explores potential consequences

for further research in social capital, happiness, and marital status.

In light of the growing unmarried demographic, this study analyzed the extent and determinants of sexual satisfaction among seven relationship-status groups: married, never married, and those who are divorced/separated, where the latter two groups are further divided into single, living apart together (LAT), and cohabiting. In addition, the study measured the levels of sexual self-esteem, sexual communication, and sex frequency for the different relationship-status groups as predictors of sexual satisfaction. Finally, this study also analyzed sexual satisfaction while accounting for overall life satisfaction. Using the ninth wave of the Pairfam data set and analyzing the responses of 3,207 respondents in total, this study suggests that marriage is not a determinant for sexual satisfaction. In fact, it can even be a negative correlate when married respondents are compared to certain unmarried groups. The only exception is that of unmarried individuals who currently have no partner. Even this situation is shown to be dependent only on less frequent intercourse, not on a lack of sexual self-esteem and sexual communication. These conclusions challenge previous research as well as the explanations of earlier scholars. Several directions for future research are discussed in light of these findings.

Happy Singlehood charts a way forward for singles to live life on their terms, and shows how everyone--single or coupled--can benefit from accepting solo living.

Based on personal interviews, quantitative analysis, and extensive review of singles' writings and literature, author Elyakim Kislev uncovers groundbreaking insights on how unmarried people create satisfying lives in a world where social structures and policies are still designed to favor marriage.

In this carefully crafted book, Kislev investigates how singles nurture social networks, create innovative communities, and effectively deal with discrimination. Happy Singlehood challenges readers to rethink how single people organize social and familial ties in new ways, and illuminates how educators, policymakers, and urban planners should cater to their needs.

In light of the new wave of immigrants and asylum seekers from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to Europe, this article investigates some of the challenges of the previous phases of immigration of MENA immigrants in order to propose how best to address the needs of the new one. In particular, this article looks at the relationship between different types of anti‐discrimination policy and the levels of perceived discrimination among first‐ and second‐generation MENA immigrants to Europe. This research uses hierarchical models to integrate data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and the Migrant Integration Policy Index. Findings show that enforcement mechanisms are most efficient in reducing feelings of discrimination among veteran and second‐generation MENA immigrants, while broad and well defined anti‐discrimination policies are highly effective among newcomers.

There is extensive scholarship on the condition of being a minority in one’s home country and vast literature on the experience of immigrants in host countries. However, almost no attention has been paid to the distinct mechanisms pertaining to immigrants who were minorities in the source country and moved to another. This paper integrates the literature on minorities with that of migration and addresses this gap by developing a theory of a growing phenomenon: the transnational social mobility of minorities. Using the US census and the American Community Survey, 14 groups of minorities (e.g., British Pakistanis) who immigrated to the USA are compared to the corresponding majority groups from the same country (e.g., the British majority). Findings show that all minorities have a lower starting point than the corresponding majority group from the same country. However, non-black minorities succeed faster and, in some cases, even pass majorities over time. In contrast, black immigrant minorities remain disadvantaged in comparison to whites from the same country.

While most previous research on immigrants’ assimilation refers to the residual disadvantage that remains in empirical analyses of economic outcomes as a general ‘ethnic penalty’, this current paper disentangles the ‘ethnic penalty’ by dividing it into four components: individual characteristics, country characteristics, the social environment in host country, and the policy environment in host country. This study tests the effects of these four components on three economic outcomes: employment, labor force participation, and household income. Data from the European Social Survey, the Migrant Integration Policy Index, the UN, and the World Bank are integrated here. Findings show that the main reasons for immigrants’ disadvantage in terms of labor force participation and household income are both origin and host country characteristics, while the effects of ethnic origins, social exclusion, and policies are weaker. However, ethnic origins and social exclusion actually play a central role in determining unemployment of immigrants.

With the rise of individualism and post-materialist values comes the fall in the importance of marriage. However, it is still not clear how these two processes affect each other in terms of individuals’ wellbeing and happiness. Thus, the aim of this paper is to gain a better understanding of how happiness may be moderated by post-materialist values among different groups of marital status: never married, divorced/separated, widowed, married, and cohabiting individuals. Through executing a multilevel analysis on data from the European Social Survey between 2002 and 2014, this paper demonstrates a clear relationship between post-materialist values and levels of happiness. Moreover, it is shown that holding post-materialist views provides greater levels of happiness for singles than it does for cohabiters and married individuals, raising questions about the relationship between marriage and happiness in a post-materialist era.

This study explores the latest changes in Western European immigration to the United States by integrating several large databases: the U.S. census, the American Community Surveys, the European Social Survey, as well as the Human Development Index and Gini index. Findings show that the number of individuals born in Western Europe but with family origins elsewhere who have been immigrating to and settling in the United States is increasing. I divide the Western European population that immigrates to the United States into seven different subpopulations by their ancestries and explore the characteristics of these populations before and after immigrating to the United States. I also examine their relative success in terms of economic and labor outcomes in America, finding, for example, that some of the least advantaged immigrant groups have some of the best economic outcomes in the United States. The different self-selection and assimilation patterns among these immigrants have implications for U.S. public policy, which we identify and begin to explore.

The number of immigrant students in Western Europe is growing steadily, but their social integration and educational achievements are still lagging behind. Nevertheless, there is still very little empirical evidence on which policies can effectively promote them. Thus, this article tests 2 main types of policies: targeted support and intercultural policies, and compares their effect on university graduation of 6 immigrant groups in 13 Western European countries. This research incorporates country- and origin-based variables as well as social and individual characteristics in cross-classified multilevel analyses. Data from the European Social Survey, the Migrant Integration Policy Index, the United Nations (UN) database and the World Bank database are integrated here. Findings show that intercultural policies have more positive effect on immigrant students than targeted policies. Furthermore, there is division between these six groups not only in their actual educational achievements, but also in the extent to which they are helped by education policies.