‘Me-time’: how solitude can affect the early stages of adulthood

According to new research from a US university, solitude can have both positive and negative impacts on the early stages of adolescence.

Previous research suggests that spending too much time by yourself is associated with negative effects such as loneliness and emotional distress, yet other studies have linked spending time alone with positive outcomes such as reduced anger, anxiety and upset.

However, this study, which was published in the International Journal of Behavioural Development and was conducted by experts at Buffalo University, is one-of-a-kind. Experts have analysed 411 people aged between 18-26 to discover how spending time alone can affect social interactions within the same day, and whether this link provokes people to sought alone time in the first place. 

Hope White, Lead Author of the study and Psychology Postgraduate student at Buffalo University said: ‘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.

‘We think it is because such individuals do not use their solitary time in ways that are restorative. Instead they might spend their alone time ruminating.’

Additionally, Ms White believed young adults could benefit from receiving advice on how to use extra ‘me-time’, to make sure they are gaining positive outcomes from the experience and to enable them to successfully interact with others afterwards.

‘There is also the possibility for instruction on how to better manage negative feelings during social interactions after an extended period of solitude,’ Ms White said, ‘especially for people who have anxiety about interacting with others.’

Moving forward, experts have found a gap in the market for further research that explores why some people experience positive or negative emotions after a period of solitude.

Ms White concludes her research by claiming more questions such as ‘Does solitude affect how we interact with our relationship partners?’ need to be asked. The academic claims her study ‘moves the field forward, but there is still much to be learned about this very common experience.’

Photo by Ante Hamersmit