In line with these ideas, empirical

In line with these ideas, empirical research has documented
the powerful effect of intimacy in close relationship on health
and well-being (for a review, see Myers, 1999). Several studies
have shown that a striving for intimacy within a person’s goal
hierarchy is consistently related to subjective well-being and
particularly to higher positive affect (Emmons, 1991; Oishi,
Deiner, Suh, & Lucas, 1999). Romantic love is just one area
in which such life purpose can be successfully found and
enacted. The large number of other domains of relatedness
includes dyadic friendships, familial groups, community, and
so on. So although romantic relations might be a central and
highly significant domain to find life meaning, it may not
necessarily be essential to finding one’s meaning in life.
Current findings indeed indicate that many emerging adults
appear to engage in work more than in love especially if they
come from middle class families and/or are academically
oriented (Arnett, 2000; Osgood, Ruth, Eccles, Jacobs, & Barber,
2005; Shulman & Nurmi, 2010). A large cross-cultural
study with adolescents by Seiffge-Krenke et al. (2010) spanning
17 countries demonstrated similar trends already in adolescence.
A clear tendency in young people to sequence
education/work ahead of fully engaging in romantic love
appears to characterize the present generation of emerging
adults (see also Arnett, 2000).