Participants completed daily reports on their smartphones about the amount of time they spent alone and how they felt afterwards when social interaction occurred. The study involved a diverse sample of 411 emerging adults between 18-26 years old. The novel research, published in a special issue on solitude in the International Journal of Behavioral Development, provides new knowledge about the potential risks and benefits of solitude during emerging adulthood, a critical stage in the life course defined, in part, by new freedom to determine how, and with whom, one spends their time.

'Instead, they might spend their alone time ruminating.'

'We think it is because such individuals do not use their solitary time in ways that are restorative. 'We found that people who seek solitude out of fear of, or a dislike for, social interactions experienced increased anxiety when interacting with others on days when they got more time alone than usual,' said Hope White, a graduate student in UB's psychology department and the study's first author. Other studies have linked spending time alone with positive outcomes, such as reduced anger, anxiety and sadness.īut this study uniquely evaluated how spending time alone relates to how people feel about interactions with others on the same day, and whether this link depends on the reasons someone sought solitude in the first place. Previous research suggests that spending too much time alone is associated with negative effects, like loneliness and emotional distress.

That affects me