Contemporary
Here is
a selection of published
secondary sociological and
psychological sources on
single women, focusing on
mid-20th century to present
Europe and North America.
Additions are greatly appreciated
- please e-mail the compiler
at arachne
[at] medusanet.ca
and I'll include them.
A more comprehensive
bibliography of contemporary
singleness is maintained
by Bella de Paulo at:
http://issc.berkeley.edu/singlesstudies/bibliography.html
back
to main bibliography page
Adams, M. "Singleness and Childlessness."
In
Intimacy, Family, and Society, ed. A. Skolnick
& J. H. Skolnick. Boston: Little, Brown and Company,
1971. 489-510.
___. "The Single Woman in Today's Society: A
Reappraisal." The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
41 (1971): 776-786.
Adams, Margaret. Single Blessedness: Observations
on the Single Status in Married Society. New
York: Basic Books, 1976.
Allen, Katherine R. Single Women/Family Ties:
Life Histories of Older Women. Newbury Park,
CA: Sage, 1989.
Allen, Katherine R., and Robert S. Pickett. "Forgotten
Streams in the Family Life Course: Utilization of
Qualitative Retrospective Interview in the Analysis
of Lifelong Single Women's Family Careers." Journal
of Marriage and the Family 49, no. 3 (1987):
517-26.
Anderson, Carol M., Susan Stewart, and Sona Dimidjian.
Flying Solo: Single Women in Midlife. New
York: W.W. Norton, 1994.
Atkin, D. "The Evolution of Television Series
Addressing Single Women, 1966-1990." Journal
of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 35 (1991):
517-523.
Atwood, J. D. "Sexually Single Again."
In Sexuality Counseling: Issues and Implications,
eds. E. Weinstein and E. Rosen, 59-80. Pacific Grove
[CA]:: Brooks/Cole, 1988.
Austrom, Douglas, and Kim Hanel. "Psychological
Issues of Single Life in Canada: An Explanatory Study."
International Journal of Women's Studies
8, no. 1 (1985): 10-23.
Bahr, Howard M., and Gerald R. Garrett. Women
Alone: The Disaffiliation of Urban Females. Lexington,
Mass.: Lexington Books, 1976.
Baker, L. G. Jr. "The Personal and Social Adjustment
of the Never-Married Woman." Journal of Marriage
and the Family (1968, August): 473-479.
Barrett, A. E. "Social Support and Life Satisfaction
among the Never Married." Research on Aging
21, no. 1 (1999): 46-72.
Bequaert, Lucia H. Single Women Alone & Together.
Boston: Beacon Press, 1976.
Berg-Cross, Linda, Anne-Marie Scholz, Joanne Long,
Ewa Grzeszcyk, and Anjali Roy. "Single Professional
Women: A Global Phenomenon, Challenges and Opportunities."
Journal of International Women's Studies 5, no.5
(June 2004): 34-59.
Billings, Victoria. The Womansbook. Los
Angeles: Wollstonecraft Inc., 1974.
Blanchard, Irene. "The Development of Self-Esteem
among Women Born in the 1930s Who Have Never Married."
Ph.D Thesis, Syracuse University, 1985.
Bonds-White, Frances E. "An Exploratory Study
of the Adult Development of a Group of Never Married
Women from 22-82." Ph.D Thesis, Temple University
[US], 1987.
Brehaut, Timothy, Kathleen Hamilton, and Canada Mortgage
and Housing Corporation. Older Women: A Study
of the Housing and Support Service Needs of Older
"Single" Women. [Ottawa]: Cmhc, 1992.
Burnley, Cynthia. "Selves, Careers, and Relationships
of Never Married Women." Ph.D Thesis, University
of Tennessee, USA, 1979.
Burnley, Cynthia S. "Caregiving: The Impact
on Emotional Support for Single Women." Journal
of Aging Studies 1, no. 3 (1987): 253-264.
Byrne, Anne. "Single Women in Irish Sociological
Writing." In Women in Irish Society: A Sociological
Reader, eds. A. Byrne and M. Leonard. Belfast:
Beyond the Pale Publications, 1997.
___. "Familist Ideologies and Difficult Identities."
In Reclaiming Gender: Transgressive Identities
in Modern Ireland, eds. Marilyn Cohen and Nancy
Curtin. New York: St Martins Press, 1999.
___. "Single Women's Identities in Contemporary
Irish Society." Ph.D in Sociology, University
of Limerick, Ireland, 2000.
___. "Singular Identities: Managing Stigma, Resisting Voices."
Women's Studies Review 7 (2000): 13-24.
___. "Developing a Sociological Model for Researching
Women's Self and Social Identities." The European
Journal of Women's Studies 10, no.4 (2003): 443-464.
Clements, Marcelle. The Improvised Woman: Single
Women Reinventing Single Life. New York: Norton,
1998.
Cline, Sally. Women, Celibacy and Passion.
London: Andre Deutsch, 1993.
Coplon, Jennifer K. Single Older Women in the
Workforce: By Necessity, or Choice? New York:
Garland Pub., 1997.
de Jong-Gierveld, Jenny, and Monique Aalberts. "Singlehood:
A Creative or Lonely Experience?" Alternative
Lifestyles 3, no. 3 (1980): 350-368.
Dougherty, Nora. "Why Some Women Stay Single:
An Object-Relations Based Study of Their Reasons and
Experiences." Ph.D Thesis, University of Alabama,
USA, 1988.
Doyle, Veronica M. It's My Turn Now: The Choice
of Older Women to Live Alone. Vancouver, B.C.:
Gerontology Research Centre at Simon Fraser University,
1994.
Enoch, Louise. "Never Married Women: A Study
of Adaptation." Ph.D Thesis, Smith College, USA,
1987.
Farge, Brenda Doyle. "Hostels for Women and
'The Microphysics of Power.'" Resources for
Feminist Research [Canada] 16, no. 4 (1987):
35-7.
Ferguson, Susan J. "'Old Christmas Cake' or
Independent Women? Never Married Chinese and Japanese
American Women." PhD Thesis, University of Massachusetts,
US, 1993.
Fertitta, Sharon. "Never Married Women in the
Middle Years: A Comparison of Lesbians and Heterosexuals."
Ph.D Thesis, Wright Institute, Los Angeles [US], 1984.
Fraser, Marian Botsford. Solitaire: The Intimate
Lives of Single Women. Toronto: Macfarlane Walter
& Ross, 2001.
Goldstein, Joshua R., and Catherine T. Kenney. "Marriage
Delayed or Marriage Foregone? New Cohort Forecasts
of First Marriage for U.S. Women." American
Sociological Review 66, no. 4 (2001): 506-519.
Gordon, Tuula. “Mujeras solas y familiarismo
(Single Women & Familism).” Revista
de Occidente 199 (Diciembre 1997): 133-153.
___. “Single Women.” In Gabriele Griffin
and Rosi Braidotti, eds. Thinking Differently:
A Reader in European Women’s Studies. London
& New York: Zed Books, 2002. 49-62.
___. “Single Women and Familism: Challenge
from the Margins.” The European Journal
of Women's Studies, 1, no. 2, (1994): 165-182.
___. Single Women: On the Margins? London:
MacMillan, 1994.
Hartz-Karp, Janette F. "Never Married Women:
The Experience, Expectations and Effects of Never
Marrying and Role Adaptations to a Negatively Evaluated
Status." Ph.D Thesis, University of California,
USA, 1981.
Herringer, Barbara. "Never-Married and Childless
Women in Midlife: An Exploration of the Issues."
Thesis (M.S.W.), University of British Columbia, 1989.
Houseknecht, Sharon, Suzanne Vaughan, and Anne Stratham.
"The Impact of Singlehood on the Career Patterns
of Professional Women." Journal of Marriage
and Family 49 May (1987): 353-366.
Jagers, J. Lee. "Interpersonal and Intrapersonal
Attributes of Never-Married Singles." Ph.D Thesis,
North Texas State University, USA, 1987.
Jensen, Roberta. "The Life Course of Independent
Women: Career and Relationship Development of Mid-Life
Single Women in Male Dominated Professions."
Ph.D Thesis, Fielding Institute, USA, 1989.
Keith, Pat. "Two Models of Singleness: Managing
an Atypical Marital Status." International
Journal of Sociology of the Family 10, no. 2
(1980): 301-310.
Lang, Susan S. Women without Children: The Reasons,
the Rewards, the Regrets. New York: Pharos Books,
1991.
Lange, Mary Louise. "Barriers to Intimacy and
Commitment among Never Married and Divorced Women."
Ph.D Thesis, University of New York at Buffalo, USA,
1987.
Libby, Roger W. "Creative Singlehood as a Sexual
Life-Style: Beyond Marriage as a Rite of Passage."
In Marriage and Alternatives: Exploring Intimate
Relationships, eds. Roger W Libby and Robert
N Whitehurst. Glenview, Ill.: Scott, Foresman and
Co., 1977.
Max, Aggie. The Last Resort: Scenes from a Transient
Hotel. San Francisco, Calif.: Chronicle Books,
1997.
Mays, Vickie M. "Black Women Working Together:
Diversity in Same Sex Relationships." Women's
Studies International Forum 8, no. 1 (1985):
67-71.
McCrate, Elaine Denise. "The Growth of Nonmarriage
among U.S. Women, 1954-1983." PhD Thesis, University
of Massachusetts [US], 1985.
Millar, Jane. The Socio-Economic Situation of
Solo Women in Europe. Brussels: Commission of
the European Communities, 1991.
___. "Cross National Research on Women in the
European Community: The Case of Solo Women."
Women's Studies International Forum 15, no.
1 (1992): 77-84.
National Council for the Single Woman and Her Dependants,
Roxane Arnold, and Olive Chandler. Feminine Singular:
Triumphs and Tribulations of the Single Woman: An
Anthology. London: Femina Books, 1974.
National Film Board of Canada. Them That's Not
[video]. Montreal: National Film Board of Canada,
1993.
O'Brien, Mary, and Clare Christie. Single Women:
Affirming Our Spiritual Journeys. Bergin &
Garvey, 1993.
O'Brien, Patricia. The Woman Alone. [New
York]: Quadrangle, 1973.
Pepper, Sarah Kathryn. "Single among Marrieds:
Characteristics, Living Arrangements and Attitudes
of the Never Married." PhD Thesis, University
of Pennsylvania, US, 2000.
Peterson, Nancy L. Our Lives for Ourselves: Women
Who Have Never Married. New York: Putnam, 1981.
Phillimore, Peter. "Unmarried Women of the Dhaula
Dhar: Celibacy and Social Control in Northwest India."
Journal of Anthropological Research 47, no.
3 (1991): 331-350.
Radner, Hilary, and Moya
Luckett. Swinging Single:
Representing Sexuality in
the 1960s. Minneapolis,
Minn: University of Minnesota
Press, 1999.
Reynolds, Jill. The
Single Woman: a Discursive
Investigation. Routledge,
2008.
Reynolds, Jill. "Patterns
in the telling: Single women’s
intimate relationships with
men." Special Issue
on Intimacy Beyond the Family,
Sociological Research
Online 11, no.3 (2006):
19 pages. [http://www.socresonline.org.uk/11/3/reynolds.html].
Reynolds, Jill. "Constructing
the single woman in therapy."
The Journal of Critical
Psychology, Counselling
and Psychotherapy 2,
no.1 (2002): 20–31.
Reynolds, Jill and S. Taylor.
“Narrating singleness:
life stories and deficit
identities.” Narrative
Inquiry 15, no.2 (2005):
197–215.
Reynolds, J., M. Wetherell,
and S. Taylor. "Choice
and chance: negotiating
agency in narratives of
singleness." The
Sociological Review
55, no.2 (May 2007): 331–351.
Reynolds, Jill and Margaret Wetherell. "The Discursive
Climate of Singleness: The Consequences for Women's
Negotiation of a Single Identity." Feminism and
Psychology 13, no.4 (December 2003): 489-510.
Roth, Melissa. On the Loose: Big-City Days and
Nights of Three Single Women. New York: Morrow,
1999.
Rothblum, Esther D., and Kathleen D. Brehony, eds.
Boston Marriages: Romantic but Asexual Relationships
among Contemporary Lesbians. Amherst: University
of Massachussetts Press, 1993.
Sachdev, Paul. Sex, Abortion, and Unmarried Women.
Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1993.
Sandfield A. and C. Percy. "Accounting for Single
Status: Heterosexism and Ageism in Heterosexual Women's
Talk about Marriage." Feminism and Psychology
13, no.4 (November 2003): 475-488.
Schwartzberg, Natalie, Kathy Berliner, and Demaris
Jacob. Single in a Married World: A Lifecycle
Framework for Working with the Unmarried Adult.
New York:: Norton, 1995.
Simon, Barbara Levy. Never Married Women.
Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1987.
Simpson, Roona. "Contemporary Spinsters in the New
Millennium: Changing Notions of Family & Kinship." Gender
Institute Working Papers, London School of Economics,
July 2003. [
http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/genderInstitute/workingPapers.htm].
Smith, R.M. "Some Reflections on the Evidence
for the Origins of the 'European Marriage Pattern'
in England." In The Sociology of the Family:
New Directions for Britain, ed. C. Harris. Keele:
University of Keele, 1979.
Spreitzer, Elmer, and Lawrence E. Riley. "Factors
Associated with Singlehood." Journal of Marriage
and the Family 36, no. 3 (1974): 533-542.
Staples, Robert. "Black Singles in America."
In Single Life: Unmarried Adults in Social Context,
ed. Peter J. Stein. New York: St Martin's, 1981.
Stein, Peter J., ed. Single Life: Unmarried Adults
in Social Context. New York: St. Martin's Press,
1981.
Tremlett, George. Homeless - but for St Mungo's.
London: Unwin Hyman, 1989.
Trimberger, E. Kay. The New Single Woman.
Beacon Press, 2006.
Waters, Jacqueline. The Nature of Single Homelessness.
Norwich: University of East Anglia in Association
with Social Work Today, 1982.
Wekerle, Gerda R., and Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation. Women's Housing Projects in Eight
Canadian Cities. [Ottawa]: Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corporation, 1988.
Whitehead, Barbara Dafoe. Why There Are No Good
Men Left: The Romantic Plight of the New Single Woman.
New York: Broadway Books, 2003.
Wiener, C.Z. "Is a Spinster an Unmarried Woman?"
American Journal of Legal History 20 (1976):
27-31.
Yates, Martha. Coping: A Survival Manual for
Women Alone. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall,
1976.
top
