The Handbook of Solitude

The second section of the book is organized to present the study of solitude in different developmental stages across the life span spanning the years from early childhood to older adulthood. However, equally represented here is heterogeneous nature of solitude, with various different conceptualizations, types, and psychological processes related to solitude represented. Mumper and Klein ( Chapter 7) examine the construct of temperament known as behavioral inhibition (the tendency to exhibit fearful/withdrawn behavior in response to unfamiliar people and novel contexts), including the genetic, biological, cognitive, and environmental risk factors associated with its development, maintenance, and links with psychopathology. Coplan, Ooi, and Hipson ( Chapter 8) then explore the causes and consequences of different solitary activities in a variety of contexts (school and nonschool settings) from early childhood to adolescence. Whereas Coplan and colleagues address, among other things, aspects of solitude that youth choose to engage in, Ladd and colleagues ( Chapter 9) continue the discussion of solitude in interpersonal contexts but focus on aspects of solitude that children and adolescents rarely choose. Specifically, the chapter shines light on the negative aspects of peer experiences that include rejection, exclusion, and victimization. Continuing with an emphasis on the role of experiences with peers, Bowker, White, and Etkin ( Chapter 10) focus their lens specifically on the period of adolescence as they examine social withdrawal and experiences at both the group (e.g., rejection, exclusion) and dyadic (e.g., friendships) levels of social complexity.

Developmentally, the end of adolescence marks a change in the level of structure (e.g., oversight by adults including parents, teachers, and coaches). Given that emerging adults can now choose for themselves how much time to spend with others or in solitude, Nelson and Millett ( Chapter 11) discuss how motivations to withdraw from social interactions may be tied, in positive and negative ways, to development during the transition to adulthood. For an increasing number of people, this path toward and into adulthood is made as a single (e.g., not married) individual. Adamczyk ( Chapter 12) provides insight into what we know about singlehood in adulthood including the multitude of reasons for singlehood and the links between singlehood and aspects of adjustment and maladjustment. Finally, our developmental coverage of withdrawal across the life span concludes with a look by Hoppman and colleagues ( Chapter 13) into solitude experienced by individuals in older adulthood.

The third section of the handbook is aimed at unpacking the complexity that is solitude. The section attempts to showcase the number of different ways to think about aspects of solitude, including different constructs, processes, and contexts, that when combined increase our understanding of the broader concept of solitude. To begin the section, Nikitin and Schoch ( Chapter 14) employ the lens of social approach motivations (dispositional motivation to approach positive social outcomes), and social avoidance motivations (the dispositional motivation to avoid negative social outcomes) to explain why some individuals are better able to establish and maintain satisfying social relationships than others. That is followed by Wesselmann and colleagues’ ( Chapter 15) treatment of the painful experience of ostracism including the various affective, cognitive, and behavioral reactions to being ignored and excluded. Next, Nguyen, Weistein, and Ryan ( Chapter 16) explore some of the myriad of factors that serve to shape solitary experiences, including the reasons for which we find ourselves alone, the implications of different solitary activities, and the characteristics of solitude that make it feel more true and authentic to the individual. This chapter also highlights the importance of autonomous (intrinsic) motivations in the positive experience and impact of solitude.

The next two chapters address a unique context for solitude. As noted previously, the media‐saturated world in which we now live is providing a context that is reshaping how we think about solitude. In exploring the darker side, as it were, of media, Kim ( Chapter 17) examines the bidirectional links between problematic use of media and psychological maladjustment with an emphasis on loneliness. Burnell, George, and Underwood ( Chapter 18) then highlight how new media has the potential to connect us to others as well as to isolate us from others by focusing on social networking sites and mobile phones and their relation to young people’s social adjustment and maladjustment. Continuing with the notion that solitude has both the potential for good and bad, Paulus, Kenworthy, and Marusich ( Chapter 19) explicate how finding the right balance between being alone and being together can promote creativity, and Eccles, Kazmier, and Ehrhart ( Chapter 20) look into the world of highly skilled athletes to show how solitude can be a means of rest that has benefits in sport performance and well‐being. The section then concludes by reminding us once again that context matters in our understanding of solitude. Xu and colleagues ( Chapter 21) make it poignantly clear that solitude may be experienced uniquely for immigrants who have to constantly deal with the negative biases and stereotypes associated with foreign languages and accents, experiences of acculturation, perpetual foreigner stereotypes, and intergroup anxiety between immigrant and non‐immigrant groups. Taken together, this section provides a clear reminder that to understand solitude’s meaning and impact, we must consider a variety of constructs (e.g., motivations, needs, ostracism), contexts (e.g., peer group, media, sports), and outcomes (e.g., creativity, loneliness, rest, anxiety) related to solitude.

The fourth section of the book focuses on the strong, and oftentimes complicated links between solitude and mental health. Although several chapters in the earlier sections describe findings pertaining to solitude and psychological outcomes, the chapters in this section are unique in their special emphasis not only on individual characteristics (including specific psycho‐social difficulties), but also on contexts that can influence when solitude leads to mental health difficulties and psychopathology or confer benefits. In the first chapter in this section, Zelenski, Sobocko, and Whelan ( Chapter 22) explore commonly held beliefs about the links between introversion, extraversion, and happiness. Korpela and Staats ( Chapter 23) describe the ways in which time spent in nature can be restorative for mental health and well‐being. Leavitt, Butzer, Clarke, and Dvorakova ( Chapter 24) provide a detailed discussion about the importance of solitude during the increasingly popular and therapeutic practice of mindfulness meditation. The next two chapters return to a consideration of timely and important individual characteristics related to solitude, with a focus on autism by Baczewski and Kasari ( Chapter 25) and social anxiety disorder by Alden and Fung ( Chapter 26). The remaining chapters in this section focus on unique contexts that profoundly impact, for better or worse, experiences of solitude and aloneness and their associations with mental health. Wong and Li ( Chapter 27) offer in‐depth cultural analysis of hikikomori , a phenomenon first discovered in Japan wherein individuals retreat into solitude in their residences for six months or longer, with an emphasis on a novel intervention effort in Hong Kong. In the final chapter in this section, Haney ( Chapter 28) examines the unique context of solitary confinement within the United States’ prison system, with a fascinating discussion of the ways in different aspects of context (the larger prison system, the nature of solitary confinement) come together to lead to considerable suffering and psychopathology in an already vulnerable population of inmates. Taken together, the chapters highlight the important contributions of both the individual and the context for research and clinical intervention and prevention efforts.