Objectives Solitude is a state of being without social contact; it occurs when a person chooses not to interact with others, even when they are in the company of others. It is not necessarily ...accompanied by negative feelings. In contrast, loneliness, is a psychological state characterized by the feeling of needing the company of others. Most Japanese studies have regarded loneliness as an unpleasant and painful experience. In this study, focusing on solitude, we developed the Japanese version of Positive Solitude Scale (JPSS) developed by Palgi et al. and evaluated its reliability and validity. This scale assesses the “conscious and voluntary decision to be alone as a positive experience.”Methods A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted between May and August 2023, with 700 men and women participants aged 20 years or older living in Ward A, Sapporo. The survey items comprised basic attributes, the JPSS, subjective sense of health, subjective sense of well-being, and depression to verify convergent validity and social network and loneliness to verify discriminant validity. Additionally, principal component and correlation analyses were performed.Results A total of 245 questionnaires were collected, and 237 valid responses were obtained (valid response rate: 33.9%). The participants' mean age was 58.5±1.2 years and 111 (46.8%) were men; the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the JPSS was 0.92. The principal component analysis revealed that all nine items had principal component loadings above 0.6, with a cumulative contribution of 62.3% to the overall scale. The total scale score was significantly positively correlated with subjective health (ρ=0.210, P=0.001), positive affect (ρ=0.302, P<0.001), and life satisfaction (ρ=0.241, P<0.001). There were no significant correlations among depression, negative affect, social networks, and loneliness.Conclusions The JPSS is a reliable and valid instrument unaffected by social networks and other social relationships. It is expected to be a promising new scale that can measure perceptions of time as a positive emotion, distinct from loneliness.
What are the interpersonal consequences of seeking solitude? Leading theories in developmental research have proposed that having a general preference for solitude may incur significant interpersonal ...costs, but empirical studies are still lacking. In five studies (total N = 1,823), we tested whether target individuals with a higher preference for solitude were at greater risk for ostracism, a common, yet extremely negative, experience. In studies using self-reported experiences (Study 1) and perceptions of others’ experiences (Study 2), individuals with a stronger preference for solitude were more likely to experience ostracism. Moreover, participants were more willing to ostracize targets with a high (vs. low) preference for solitude (Studies 3 and 4). Why do people ostracize solitude-seeking individuals? Participants assumed that interacting with these individuals would be aversive for themselves and the targets (Study 5; preregistered). Together, these studies suggest that seeking time alone has important (and potentially harmful) interpersonal consequences.
Objectives Solitude is a state of being without social contact; it occurs when a person chooses not to interact with others, even when they are in the company of others. It is not necessarily ...accompanied by negative feelings. In contrast, loneliness, is a psychological state characterized by the feeling of needing the company of others. Most Japanese studies have regarded loneliness as an unpleasant and painful experience. In this study, focusing on solitude, we developed the Japanese version of the Positive Solitude Scale (JPSS) developed by Palgi et al. and evaluated its reliability and validity. This scale assesses the “conscious and voluntary decision to be alone as a positive experience.”Methods A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted between May and August 2023, with 700 men and women participants aged 20 years or older living in Ward A, Sapporo. The survey items comprised basic attributes, the JPSS, subjective sense of health, subjective sense of well-being, and depression to verify convergent validity and social network and loneliness to verify discriminant validity. Additionally, principal component and correlation analyses were performed.Results A total of 245 questionnaires were collected, and 237 valid responses were obtained (valid response rate: 33.9%). The participants' mean age was 58.5±1.2 years and 111 (46.8%) were men; the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the JPSS was 0.92. The principal component analysis revealed that all nine items had principal component loadings above 0.6, with a cumulative contribution of 62.3% to the overall scale. The total scale score was significantly positively correlated with subjective health (ρ=0.210, P=0.001), positive affect (ρ=0.302, P<0.001), and life satisfaction (ρ=0.241, P<0.001). There were no significant correlations among depression, negative affect, social networks, and loneliness.Conclusions The JPSS is a reliable and valid instrument unaffected by social networks and other social relationships. It is expected to be a promising new scale that can measure perceptions of time as a positive emotion, distinct from loneliness.
Aloneliness is conceptualized as the negative feelings that arise from the perception that one is not spending enough time alone. We developed and validated an assessment of aloneliness and explored ...its role in the links between motivations for solitude, time spent alone, and wellbeing. Studies 1 (N = 643) and 2 (N = 379) described the construction and validation of the Solitude and Aloneness Scale (SolAS). Study 3 (N = 418) examined the role of aloneliness as a mediator of the links between motivations for solitude and wellbeing. Study 4 (N = 967) explored aloneliness as a moderator of links between time alone and depressive symptoms. Cumulatively, results supported the validity and theoretical utility of aloneliness in elucidating the complex associations being solitude and wellbeing.
•Aloneliness is the negative feelings that arise from not spending enough time alone.•We developed and validated a new self-report measure of aloneliness.•Aloneliness mediated the negative link between preferring solitude and wellbeing.•Aloneliness moderated the positive link between time spent alone and depression.•Aloneliness helps us understand complex associations being solitude and wellbeing.
Abstract
Introduction
Solitude represents an important context for emerging adults' well‐being; but to date, little is known about
how
emerging adults spend their time alone. The goals of this study ...were to: (1) describe and characterize solitary activities among emerging adults attending university; (2) examine links between solitary activities and indices of adjustment; and (3) explore the moderating role of affinity for solitude in these associations.
Methods
Participants were
N
= 1798 university students aged 18–25 years (
M
age
= 19.73,
SD
= 1.46; 59.7% female) who completed assessments of how/why they spend time alone and indices of psychosocial adjustment (e.g., well‐being, psychological distress, loneliness, and aloneliness).
Results
Emerging adults who spent time alone predominantly thinking reported poor adjustment outcomes (i.e., higher loneliness and psychological distress, and lower well‐being) and dissatisfaction with solitude, whereas those who engaged in active leisure activities or passive technology use while alone reported lower psychological distress and higher satisfaction with solitude. The negative implications of doing nothing were not attenuated at higher levels of affinity for solitude.
Discussion
These findings suggest that some solitary activities are more beneficial than others.
Unsociability is a characteristic that refers to individual differences in the non-fearful preference for solitude. There is continued debate pertaining to the potential costs and benefits of ...solitude for our well-being. In this essay, we consider various approaches to the conceptualization and measurement of unsociability, and explore its implications for socio-emotional functioning. Further, we propose a somewhat speculative theoretical model of developmental timing effects for unsociability, which postulates non-linear variations in the implications of a heightened preference for solitude from early childhood to emerging adulthood. After considering the existing empirical support for this model, we outline remaining topics of concerns and suggest the most pressing directions for future research.
•Unsociability refers to a non-fearful preference for solitude.•We discuss various approaches to conceptualizing and measuring this construct.•A theoretical model of developmental timing effects for unsociability is proposed.•Links between unsociability and well-being may vary across development.
Madalena Miranda's journey to the lazaretto in Lisbon is a metaphor for a journey into the interior of everyone who has experienced the covid-19 pandemic. Just as the last pandemic marked our lives ...forever, other pandemics can be found during other times and in other societies. In this short text, we cross the video with other stories created by the connection between moving images and the direct sensations they create. We explore Rousseau's ethics, the savage in Robinson Crusoe and Senator La Ciura, and Boccaccio's concept of community. All the stories take us back to a moral and ethical problem that is linked to the concept of “appearance”.
People value solitude for themselves. Yet little is known about how people perceive dispositional preference for solitude in others. Does dispositional preference for solitude represent a protective ...factor from psychological distress during times of social distancing? And do laypeople have accurate beliefs about the role of preference for solitude?
To answer these questions, we conducted four studies (three preregistered, N
= 1418) at the early and a later stage of the COVID-19 pandemic using experimental, longitudinal, and experience sampling designs.
People expected targets with a higher solitude preference to be more resilient (e.g., less lonely, more satisfied with life) during social distancing, and consequently prioritize them less when allocating supportive resources for maintaining social connections (Studies 1 and 2). Compared to these beliefs, the actual difference between individuals with higher versus lower solitude preference was smaller (Study 2) or even negligible (Study 3). Did people form more calibrated beliefs two years into the pandemic? Study 4 suggested no.
Together, these studies show that people overestimate the role of preference for solitude in predicting others' psychological experience. As a result, solitude-seeking individuals may miss out on supportive resources, leading to higher risks for mental health issues.
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