Defining the Word Single
Dr. Gary Chapman's characterizes the demographic including unmarried, divorced, separated, widowed, and single parents.
Should dating and relationships be more formally studied?
"More than four of every ten American adults are single - 88.5 million Americans. . . the United States has more single adults than any other nation in the world except China and India."
Dr. Gary Chapman's The Five Languages of Love, goes on to break this large group, into at least five different and diverse sub-groups.
Here are the five he lists:
1. Never married - "The median age of a first marriage has risen to twenty-five among women and twenty-seven among men."
2. Divorced
3. Separated but not divorced
4. Widowed - "Widowhood is definitely gender biased. Four out of five adults who are single because of the death of a spouse are females."
5. Single parents
The book goes on to state, "Giving and receiving love is at the center of the single adult's sense of well-being." Later on it states, "if you will read and apply the information given in the following chapters, you will discover how to give and receive love effectively."
The book's author feels there are five different love languages, and each of us essentially has a primary love language. "If we want the other person to feel loved, we must discover and learn to speak his/her primary love language."
"Learning to speak love and appreciation in a language the other person can receive is the key to enhancing all human relationships. . . if you read the following chapters and apply the principles of the five love languages, you will become more effective in all of your relationships."
Dr. Chapman discusses not only dating and personal relationships, but relationships with parents, siblings, friends, etc.
