Abstract
BackgroundIt has been suggested that an increasing proportion of young adults in Japan have lost interest in romantic relationships, a phenomenon termed “herbivorization”. We assessed trends in heterosexual relationship status and self-reported interest in heterosexual romantic relationships in nationally representative data.MethodsWe used data from seven rounds of the National Fertility Survey (1987–2015) and included adults aged 18–39 years (18–34 years in the 1987 survey; sample size 11,683–17,675). Current heterosexual relationship status (married; unmarried but in a relationship; single) was estimated by sex, age group and survey year, with singles further categorized into those reporting interest vs. no interest in heterosexual romantic relationships. Information about same-sex relationships were not available.ResultsBetween 1992 and 2015, the age-standardized proportion of 18-39-year-old Japanese adults who were single had increased steadily, from 27.4 to 40.7% among women and from 40.3 to 50.8% among men. This increase was largely driven by decreases in the proportion of married women aged 25–39 years and men aged 30–39 years, while those in a relationship had increased only slightly for women and remained stable for men. By 2015, the proportion of single women was 30.2% in those aged 30–34 years and 24.4% in those aged 35–39 years. The corresponding numbers for men were 39.3% and 32.4%. Around half of the singles (21.4% of all women and 25.1% of all men aged 18–39 years) reported that they had no interest in heterosexual romantic relationships. Single women and men who reported no interest in romantic relationships had lower income and educational levels and were less likely to have regular employment compared to those who reported such an interest.ConclusionsIn this analysis of heterosexual relationships in nationally representative data from Japan, singlehood among young adults had steadily increased over the last three decades. In 2015 around one in four women and one in three men in their thirties were unmarried and not in a heterosexual relationship. Half of the singles reported no interest in romantic relationships and these women and men had lower income and educational levels and were less likely to have regular employment.
Highlights
It has been suggested that an increasing proportion of young adults in Japan have lost interest in romantic relationships, a phenomenon termed “herbivorization”
Trends in and factors associated with heterosexual relationship status among young adults in Japan access data from the National Fertility Survey, researchers need to apply for data access to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research
Half of the singles reported no interest in romantic relationships and these women and men had lower income and educational levels and were less likely to have regular employment
Summary
We used data from seven rounds of the National Fertility Survey (1987–2015) and included adults aged 18–39 years (18–34 years in the 1987 survey; sample size 11,683–17,675). Information on the number of individuals in the Japanese population by age, sex, and marital status was obtained from the Population Census of Japan (1985–2015) [9]. We used these data for calculation of sample weights, as described below. We used sample weights, standardized to the age distribution of 2015, to estimate the age-standardized proportions of young adults in each category of relationship status in the full age range (18–39 years) and by age group (18–24, 25–29, 30–34, and 35–39 years) in the seven surveys. Analyses were not performed for the age groups 18–39 years and 35–39 years in 1987 because unmarried individuals older than 34 years were not included in this survey.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
