Better Off Alone: Daily Solitude Is Associated With Lower Negative Affect in More Conflictual Social Networks

Birditt, Kira S.; Manalel, Jasmine A.; Sommers, Heidi; Luong, Gloria; Fingerman, Karen L.

doi:10.1093/geroni/igy023.3188

Cited by 9 publications

(18 citation statements)

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“…Smaller network size was evident in the social network list method when participants were asked to name up to 10 people and further elaborated on as a theme in the qualitative interviews that expanded the dimensions as to why there were fewer relationships. Among older people with negative social relationships, also amplified in the thematic analysis, there appears a benefit of social selection in decreasing network size (Birditt et al, 2019) and is consistent with the theory of socio‐emotional selection (English & Carstensen, 2014; Fung et al, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Social relationship influence on self‐care and health among older people living with long term conditions: A mixed‐methods study

LeBlanc

Chiodo

Jacelon

2022

Int J Older People Nursing

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Background Social relationships influence health, yet less is known on how social relationships influence self‐care among older people living with multiple long‐term conditions. Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine how social networks influence therapeutic self‐care behaviours and health among community dwelling older people living with multiple long‐term conditions. Design Explanatory sequential mixed‐methods. Setting/Sample Community dwelling older people living in the Northeast United States. Methods A cross‐sectional sample of eighty‐nine people aged sixty‐five and older participated in telephone surveys. A nested sample of twelve participants completed a follow‐up open‐ended interview. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations and regression statistics were used to examine the associations between social network features and functions with the dependent variables of therapeutic self‐care behaviours and health. Qualities that emphasised the contexts of the relationships were integrated in the data analysis. Results The strength of the social network and level of social support influenced the outcomes of therapeutic self‐care and mental health. Thematic analysis expanded this explanation of self‐care in relation to social network size, psycho‐social support, activation of support, interaction frequency and type. Conclusion In supporting older people living with multiple long‐term conditions, this nursing research offers new ways to understand close social relationships influence on self‐care in developing systems of care at the community level. Implications for practice Designing care systems that include small trusted formal and informal caregivers that integrate social network members could improve health outcomes and improve access to supportive resources.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Social relationship influence on self‐care and health among older people living with long term conditions: A mixed‐methods study

LeBlanc

Chiodo

Jacelon

2022

Int J Older People Nursing

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“…sad, sleepy), but also were associated with higher low‐arousal positive affect (e.g. calm, quiet; Birditt et al, 2019; Pauly et al, 2017), which is reflective of relaxation (Vlemincx et al, 2015). While most studies have inquired about isolated effects of social interactions or solitude on well‐being (Birditt et al, 2019; Kushlev et al, 2018), examination of alternation of time spent across different activities could shed a new perspective.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…calm, quiet; Birditt et al, 2019; Pauly et al, 2017), which is reflective of relaxation (Vlemincx et al, 2015). While most studies have inquired about isolated effects of social interactions or solitude on well‐being (Birditt et al, 2019; Kushlev et al, 2018), examination of alternation of time spent across different activities could shed a new perspective. Some studies have shown that when individuals feel bad (vs. good) at the moment, they are more likely to engage in social interactions (vs. to work) in the next moment (Quoidbach et al, 2021; Taquet et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternating time spent on social interactions and solitude in healthy older adults

Luo

Pauly

Röcke

et al. 2022

British J of Psychology

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Time spent on being with others (social interactions) and being alone (solitude) in day to day life might reflect older adults' agentic regulatory strategies to balance the needs to belong and to conserve energy. Motivated from a joint lifespan psychological and social relationship theoretical perspective, this study examined how time spent on social interactions and solitude alternatively unfolds within individuals in daily life, relating to individual differences in trait-level well-being and fatigue. Over 21 days, a total of 11,172 valid records of social interactions were collected from 118 older adults (aged 65-94 years) in a smartphone-based event-contingent ambulatory assessment study in Switzerland. On average, a social interaction episode lasted 39 min and a solitude episode lasted 5.03 hr. Multilevel models showed that, at the within-person level, a longer-than-usual social interaction preceded and was followed by a longer-thanusual solitude episode. Moderator analyses showed that older adults with higher trait life satisfaction and lower trait fatigue spent even more time in social interactions after longer solitude episodes, amplifying the solitude-then-interaction association. Our findings suggest that whereas social interaction is a means to improve well-being, solitude is also an integral part in older adults' daily life supporting energy recovery.

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“…Individuals' optimal amount of solitude can also widely vary (Larson, 1990). The link between solitude and well-being varied across different social networks and individuals as well (Birditt et al, 2018). The results also speak to the importance of investigating potential moderators of the effect of solitude experience in the context of close relationships.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Lay et al, 2018). The inconsistent results also suggest that the effect of solitude can be moderated by individual preference (Leung, 2015) and social context (Birditt et al, 2018). Addressing these two concerns, the current study clearly differentiated solitude from loneliness and investigated the interaction between solitude and individual disposition (i.e., attachment style).…”

Section: Solitudementioning

confidence: 86%

Attachment Style Moderates the Relationship Between Solitude and Marital Satisfaction: The Cross‐Partner Effects

Zhang

2021

Family Relations

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Objective: Considering the interdependence between close partners, the present study examined how the amount of one's alone time was related to both one's own and the partner's relationship satisfaction in married couples. It also tested how attachment style moderated the within-and cross-partner associations between the experience of solitude and marital satisfaction. Background: Solitude reflects a status of being alone without any active social interactions. It can be related to either positive or negative affects depending on the circumstances. The role that solitude plays in close relationships is understudied in previous research. Method: Using data from 105 married couples from mainland China, both actor and partner effects and the moderating effect of attachment style were tested using the moderated actor-partner interdependence model (MAPIM). Results: Two cross-partner interactions between solitude and attachment style on husbands' marital satisfaction were identified.

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Better Off Alone: Daily Solitude Is Associated With Lower Negative Affect in More Conflictual Social Networks

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

Social relationship influence on self‐care and health among older people living with long term conditions: A mixed‐methods study

Social relationship influence on self‐care and health among older people living with long term conditions: A mixed‐methods study

Alternating time spent on social interactions and solitude in healthy older adults

Attachment Style Moderates the Relationship Between Solitude and Marital Satisfaction: The Cross‐Partner Effects

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