Solitude and Loneliness: An Integrative Model

Davies, Mark G.

doi:10.1177/009164719602400101

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…One of the key findings of this study is that teen mothers reported feeling very stigmatised, which resulted in loneliness, isolation and solitude. In academic research and theorising, there is no consensus about the definition of the concepts of loneliness, isolation and solitudes, and at times they are used interchangeably (Davies, 1996); a convention that I follow. It is also not a given that being alone must be negative (Long & Averill, 2003); indeed, I observed social withdrawal as both positive and negative among my respondents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘They are a shame to the community … ’ stigma, school attendance, solitude and resilience among pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers in Mahama refugee camp, Rwanda

Ruzibiza

2020

Global Public Health

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘They are a shame to the community … ’ stigma, school attendance, solitude and resilience among pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers in Mahama refugee camp, Rwanda

Ruzibiza

2020

Global Public Health

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“…In addition, there is also confusion in the literature with regard to the fact that the terms “loneliness,” “being alone,” and “living alone” are used interchangeably (Davies, 1996 ; Karnick, 2005 ; Routasalo & Pitkala, 2003 ), and that loneliness is even used as a term to describe depression (Barg et al, 2006 ). In addition, the concept of solitude, usually used to describe a positive state (Long, Seburn, Averill, & More, 2003 ), is in some cases used to describe a negative state (Long et al, 2003 ; Moustakas, 1972 ; Pilkington, 2005 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Older Norwegians’ understanding of loneliness

Hauge

Kirkevold

2010

International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well

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This interpretive study explored older people's understanding of loneliness and what they considered appropriate and effective ways of dealing with it. Thirty elderly people were interviewed in-depth; 12 described themselves as “lonely” and 18 as “not lonely.” We found a striking difference in the way “lonely” and “not lonely” people talked about loneliness. The “not lonely” participants described loneliness as painful, caused by the person's negative way of behaving and a state they should pull themselves out of. The “lonely” participants also described loneliness as painful, and gave more detailed descriptions of loneliness as disconnection from others, from their former home and from today's society. The “lonely” participants were more reserved and subdued in trying to explain loneliness, attributing it partly to themselves, but mostly to the lack of social contact with important others. Some felt able to handle their loneliness, while others felt unable to cope. This study underlines the importance of subjective experiences in trying to understand a phenomenon like loneliness and of developing support for lonely older people unable to cope on their own.

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Motivation matters: Development and validation of the Motivation for Solitude Scale – Short Form (MSS‐SF)

Thomas

Azmitia

2018

Journal of Adolescence

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Introduction: Motivation is an overlooked but crucial factor in determining whether solitude is psychologically beneficial or risky. This paper describes the development and validation of the Motivation for Solitude Scale -Short-Form (MSS-SF), a measure grounded in Self-Determination Theory that differentiates between intrinsic versus extrinsic motivations for solitude. Methods: Emerging adult (N = 803) and adolescent (N = 176) participants were recruited in four successive samples from the United States for the purposes of scale development and validation. Participants completed an on-line survey that included the MSS-SF and various well-being and personality measures.Results & conclusions: Confirmatory Factor Analyses resulted in a two-factor solution, selfdetermined solitude (SDS) and not self-determined solitude (NSDS), and showed the MSS-SF to be reliable with adolescents and emerging adults, with satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity. Engaging in solitude for extrinsic, not self-determined reasons was associated with loneliness, social anxiety, and depressive symptomatology; in contrast, solitude chosen for intrinsic, self-determined reasons was positively correlated with well-being, for emerging adults in particular. The MSS-SF goes beyond preference for solitude to distinguish two distinctly different motivations for solitude, and in so doing, allows researchers to better understand the affordances and risks of being alone for adolescents and emerging adults.The phenomenon of being alone is complex. One's aloneness can be experienced as isolation, loneliness, or solitude, and these are distinct constructs. Isolation is enforced solitude, sometimes used as a means of punishment such as solitary confinement, and is generally not a constructive experience of aloneness (Galanaki, 2005; Storr, 1988). Whereas isolation is an objective state of being separate from others, loneliness is subjective isolation, defined in the literature as a discrepancy between one's desired versus actual emotional or social relationships (Perlman & Peplau, 1982;Weiss, 1973). In contrast, solitude is defined as positive aloneness (Rubenstein & Shaver, 1982), "the constructive use of time alone," (Galanaki, 2013, p. 80), generally used for the purpose of engaging in intrinsically motivated activities (Moustakas, 1972). Despite the conceptual distinctions between these three states of being alone, research examining solitude has often conflated solitude with loneliness or isolation (Dahlberg, 2007;Gizatullina et al., 2016), or attributed the preference for solitude to social anxiety or shyness (Cheek & Buss, 1981;Leary, 1983), rather than to any positive or constructive motivation. This attribution contradicts theories positing solitude as a basic human need that spurs healthy psycholo-

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Solitude and Loneliness: An Integrative Model

Cited by 8 publications

References 19 publications

‘They are a shame to the community … ’ stigma, school attendance, solitude and resilience among pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers in Mahama refugee camp, Rwanda

‘They are a shame to the community … ’ stigma, school attendance, solitude and resilience among pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers in Mahama refugee camp, Rwanda

Older Norwegians’ understanding of loneliness

Motivation matters: Development and validation of the Motivation for Solitude Scale – Short Form (MSS‐SF)

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