Reframing Time Spent Alone: Reappraisal Buffers the Emotional Effects of Isolation

Abstract

Background Loneliness, a transdiagnostic feature of psychopathology, is an experience of perceived isolation only weakly linked to the amount of time spent alone. Although traditional loneliness interventions aim to increase social contact, targeting maladaptive cognition about time alone may be an effective way to reduce loneliness. We investigated whether a brief reappraisal manipulation enables individuals to experience their time alone more positively. We also tested the impact of trait loneliness, compulsive social media use, and trait reappraisal on experiences of time alone. Methods College students and community members (N = 220) were randomly assigned to read a passage about the benefits of solitude (n = 74), the true prevalence of loneliness (n = 72), or a control topic (n = 74). Participants then sat alone for 10 min. Results Across conditions, positive and negative mood significantly decreased after sitting alone. Participants who read about the benefits of solitude experienced a smaller reduction in positive mood than those in the control condition. Participants who less frequently used reappraisal in their everyday lives benefited most from the manipulation. Conclusions Our results provide preliminary evidence that reappraising time alone as solitude may boost resilience to the decrements in positive mood associated with time alone. Limitations, clinical implications, and directions for future research are discussed.

Loneliness in Kenyan Adolescents: Socio-Cultural Factors and Network Association with Depression and Anxiety Symptoms

“…Since perceptions of isolation exhibited the highest levels of centrality in our network, interventions that target these perceptions may enact the most change on greatest number of loneliness symptoms (Robinaugh et al, 2016). Although loneliness interventions have traditionally focused on reducing objective isolation, often through enhancing social skills and increasing social contact (Jeste, Lee, & Cacioppo, 2020), our results support more recent findings that treatments for loneliness should also target underlying perceptions of isolation, perhaps through cognitive therapy (Cacioppo et al, 2015;Rodriguez, Bellet, & McNally, 2020). Consistent with this proposition, a meta-analysis investigating the efficacy of loneliness interventions found that interventions that target cognitive factors of loneliness are significantly more successful than those targeting social factors (Masi et al, 2011).…”

Centennials, FOMO, and Loneliness: An Investigation of the Impact of Social Networking and Messaging/VoIP Apps Usage During the Initial Stage of the Coronavirus Pandemic

“…Given that we showed that the latter may have a detrimental effect on young adults' mental health because of its positive correlation with both FOMO and loneliness, a possible intervention is to encourage the use of messaging and VoIP apps, while discouraging passive social network usage, during periods of physical isolation. Previous research has shown that mental well-being can be enhanced with socio-technical approaches aimed at reappraisal of FOMO (e.g., self-talk, checklists; Alutaybi et al, 2020 ), as well as cognitive reappraisal of time spent alone (e.g., reappraise their time alone as solitude rather than loneliness; Rodriguez et al, 2020 ). Thus, public policy interventions encouraging young adults to adopt approaches that help them manage negative experiences such as FOMO or perceived isolation could greatly help reduce their negative consequences on mental health, especially in highly stressful situations that trigger a compulsive use of technology.…”

Loneliness, Social Isolation and Their Difference: A Cross-Diagnostic Study in Persistent Depressive Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder

“…This model could have wider clinical implications, as loneliness may represent a cross-diagnostic risk factor in mental health. Accordingly, loneliness has been identified as a target for therapeutic interventions ( 103 ) which either address (1) social or (2) cognitive factors ( 104 ). The majority of loneliness interventions focus on social factors, e.g., improving social skills, increasing the social network, or enhancing interaction quality ( 105 , 106 ).…”

“…Thus, merely enhancing the frequency of social contact does not necessarily alleviate loneliness and such interventions may miss the point that loneliness has rather to do with the perception of ourselves and the quality of social interactions than with social network sizes ( 109 ). Indeed, a very recent study suggests cognitive reappraisal interventions addressing time spent alone as an effective method to alleviate loneliness ( 104 ). Thus, psychotherapeutic approaches for reducing loneliness should focus on dysfunctional interpersonal processes and maladaptive social cognitions, stemming from early interpersonal trauma (CM).…”