The Good Deaths of People Who Never Marry

"People who had never married 'generally fared as well as, if not better than, married persons.' They also found that people who had no children were no different from parents in the quality of their life in their last month."

"The Institute of Medicine describes a 'good death' as 'free from avoidable distress and suffering for the patient, family, and caregivers, in general accord with the patient's and family's wishes, and reasonably consistent with clinical, cultural, and ethical standards.'"

"In the Mahmoud and Carr study, proxies were asked about the overall quality of care the deceased person had received, their anxiety and sadness, their pain and any difficulty breathing. They also reported on whether the person's care was patient-focused."

Boston University researchers Kafayat Mahmoud and Deborah Carr analyzed 12 years of Medicare data from 39,012 deceased beneficiaries aged 65 and older to examine end-of-life quality across different relationship statuses. Using proxy reports from people familiar with the deceased's final experiences, they measured factors including care quality, anxiety, sadness, pain, and breathing difficulty. The study found that never-married individuals fared as well as or better than married persons, while those without children experienced comparable end-of-life quality to parents. These findings challenge widespread cultural narratives warning single and childless people about poor outcomes in their final years.

Read at Psychology Today