Solitude, Social Withdrawal, and Individual Dispositions in Childhood and Adolescence: A Latent Profile Analysis.

Objective of the study. During the transition between late childhood and early adolescence, seeking solitude may be particularly maladaptive, given the heightened importance placed on peer relationships (Rubin et al., 2015). Children may seek solitude for different underlying motivations (Coplan et al., 2021). For example, shy children appear to seek solitude because their desire to be with others is overcome by feelings of social anxiety and fear that, in turn, may lead to loneliness (Coplan et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2020). In contrast, unsociable children may seek solitude because they enjoy being alone, and tend to engage in intrinsically motivated solitary activities (Coplan et al., 2021). The main aim of the present study is to individuate different profiles based on children’s experiences of solitude, social/asocial dissatisfaction (i.e., loneliness, aloneliness), and motivations for social withdrawal in the critical period between late childhood and early adolescence. To our knowledge, previous studies have not used a person-oriented analysis to identify groups of children who spend time alone for different motivations in this critical developmental period. Methodology. Participants were N = 561 (n = 307 girls, 55%) children ranging from 8 to 14 years (M = 11.32, SD = 1.63). Children completed an online self-report questionnaire to assess the time spent alone (α = .76), solitary activities, and positive/negative affect experienced during solitary activities (Hipson et al.,2021; α =.72 /.80), shyness (Crozier, 1995; α = .87), unsociability (Burger,1995; Coplan et al.,2019; α = .64), loneliness (Asher et al.,1984; α = .83), aloneliness (Coplan et al.,2019; α = .86), social anxiety (La Greca & Stone,1993; α = .93), depression (Kovacs,2003; α = .85), and individual dispositions (e.g., openness, Barbaranelli et al.,1998; αs = .75-.88). Results. Results from a Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) conducted with Mplus 8.4 identified the three-profile solution as the best fitting model (Entropy = .84). The largest group was labeled Sociable (n = 395, 70.4%) because they were characterized by less time alone, high positive affect, and low motivations for social withdrawal (shyness, unsociability). The remaining two groups spend comparatively more time alone but different in their motivations for social withdrawal. The Unsociable group (n = 120, 21.4%) reported more time alone, high unsociability, high positive affect, but also high aloneliness. Finally, the smallest group was labeled Shy (n = 46, 8.2%) and reported high time alone, but also high shyness, loneliness, and negative affect. A series of ANOVAs revealed some differences in individual dispositions and internalizing difficulties (i.e., social anxiety, depression) among the three groups. Among the results, (1) shy children reported high levels of emotional instability, social anxiety, and depression; (2) sociable children group reported high levels of agreeableness, consciousness, extraversion, and openness; and (3) unsociable children reported average scores in all individual dispositions and internalizing difficulties. Conclusion. Overall, findings confirmed a heterogeneity in how children experience solitude and spend their time alone. Future intervention programs should consider children’s experiences of solitude to prevent negative consequences, especially for the shy group, which might be considered the most at-risk group.