Romantic relationships improve mental well-being for most people – but are they for everyone?
Many scientific studies have shown that a high-quality romantic relationship with a loving partner has a number of psychological benefits, including increased psychological well-being and, most importantly, reduced solitude. However, it should be noted that these studies mainly focused on heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual people. One group that has been largely overlooked in research on the psychological benefits of romantic relationships is asexual people. Asexual people a sex minority (up to 3% of people are asexual) who do not feel sexual attraction or wishes to other people. However, asexual people sometimes enter romantic relationships, but it is not entirely clear whether they experience the same benefits for psychological well-being and the same reduction in loneliness as other people from relationships.
New research on the psychological effects of romantic relationships in asexual people
New research, just published in an academic journal Social psychology and Personality Scienceis currently investigating the effects of romantic relationships on psychological well-being and loneliness in asexual individuals (Zoppolat and colleagues, 2026). In the study, titled “Does romantic attraction benefit everyone? Testing a fundamental idea in relationship science through the asexual condition,” a research team led by scientist Julia Zoppolat of the University of Amsterdam Medical Centers in the Netherlands analyzed data from the so-called BBC Loneliness Experiment. In this study, data from more than 50,000 volunteers aged 16 to 99 were included. Only information from people who volunteer to provide information about themselves sexual orientationtheir relationship status and feelings of loneliness were included, leaving a final sample of 39,770 volunteers.
Results: Decreased loneliness in partnered asexuals
Overall, 3.5% of volunteers identified as asexual, 87.9% as heterosexual, and the remaining 8.9% as bisexual or homosexual. Overall, asexual people were less likely to be in a relationship than people in the other two groups. Only 15% of asexuals were in a romantic relationship, compared to 48.1% of heterosexual volunteers and 35.2% of homosexual or bisexual volunteers. Asexuals were less satisfied with their romantic relationships than the other two groups. Heterosexual people were also less satisfied with their relationships than homosexual or bisexual people. Both asexual and bisexual or homosexual people felt lonelier than heterosexual people and also expected to be more lonely in old age than heterosexual people.
The scientists then investigated whether relationship status protected against feelings of loneliness. While heterosexual people and bisexual or homosexual people felt less lonely when in a romantic relationship than when they were single, this effect was not observed in asexual people. They felt equally lonely in romantic relationships and when single.
Take away
Together, the research highlights the importance of including sexual minority groups in research on the psychological effects of romantic relationships. The classic effect that romantic relationships reduce loneliness was found only in heterosexual, bisexual and homosexual people, but not in asexual people, who also felt generally lonely. Thus, romantic relationships do not make anyone feel lonely – it depends on the sexual orientation.
