Examining the Relationship Between Preference for Solitude and Subjective Well-Being Among Japanese Older Adults

Toyoshima, Aya; Kusumi, Takashi

doi:10.1093/geroni/igab054

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Toyoshima and Kusumi (2022) [ 42 ] examined the relationship between preference for solitude (which in this study refers to time spent alone) and subjective well-being and reported that enjoyment of solitude and productivity while being solitary were associated with the maintenance of subjective well-being among the elderly. In our study, the number of individuals with high levels of social isolation who were intentionally socially isolated or enjoyed solitude was unclear; however, it could be inferred that there was a certain number of them.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of subjective well-being on physical frailty in middle-aged and elderly Japanese with high social isolation

Tanabe,

Sugawara,

Sakurai

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Social isolation exacerbates physical frailty and is associated with subjective well-being. Even those with high levels of social isolation may have different health statuses depending on the type of isolation and their subjective well-being. However, the effect of subjective well-being on the relationship between social isolation and physical frailty remains unclear. This study examined whether the risk of physical frailty was the same for individuals with social isolation according to high and low subjective well-being. The study participants included 1,953 middle-aged Japanese adults aged 45 years and older. Physical frailty was assessed using a modified version of the Fried phenotype criteria. Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis was used to classify participants according to social isolation indicators. Subsequently, we focused on the groups with high social isolation and classified them according to whether their subjective well-being was high or low. Subjective well-being was evaluated using the Shiawase and Ikigai scales, which are concepts used in Japan. Finally, we used survival time analysis to examine the relationship between Shiawase or Ikigai and physical frailty in groups with high social isolation. The participants were classified into four groups based on their social isolation status. The physical frailty rate of the high social isolation class was 37.0%, which was significantly higher than that of the other classes. Survival time analysis revealed that among people with high social isolation, those with high Shiawase and Ikigai had a significantly lower risk of physical frailty than those with low Shiawase and Ikigai. All individuals with high social isolation are not at a high risk of physical frailty. The findings reveal that even those with high level of social isolation may have a lower risk of physical frailty if their subjective well-being is high. These results will contribute to promoting the prevention of frailty in middle-aged and older adults.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of subjective well-being on physical frailty in middle-aged and elderly Japanese with high social isolation

Tanabe,

Sugawara,

Sakurai

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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“…Affinity for solitude shares conceptual overlap with other similar constructs, including preference for solitude (Burger, 1995), unsociability (Coplan & Weeks, 2010), and intrinsically motivated solitude (Nguyen et al, 2018). Whereas these concepts vary to different extents on the consideration of the motivational and behavioral features, affinity for solitude, which may be used interchangeably with enjoyment of solitude (Cramer & Lake, 1998; Toyoshima & Kusumi, 2022), focuses more on the emotional experience of time spent alone (e.g., Borg & Willoughby, 2022; Daly & Willoughby, 2020; Hu et al, 2022).…”

Section: Affinity For Solitude and Adjustment In Chinese Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Affinity for solitude in Chinese children and adolescents: Relations with social, school, and psychological adjustment.

Chen,

Zhou,

et al. 2024

Developmental Psychology

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This study examined relations of affinity for solitude with social-behavioral, academic, and psychological adjustment in Chinese children and adolescents. The participants included 3,417 students (1,714 boys) in fourth, sixth, and eighth grades (M ages = 10, 12, and 14 years, respectively) in China. Data on affinity for solitude were collected from students' self-reports and data on adjustment were collected from multiple sources. The results showed that whereas affinity for solitude was negatively associated with social competence and academic achievement and positively associated with behavioral problems in Grade 4, the associations were weaker or nonsignificant in Grade 6. Moreover, affinity for solitude was positively associated with academic achievement and negatively associated with behavioral problems in Grade 8. Affinity for solitude was negatively associated with psychological adjustment in general, but the associations were weaker in higher grades. The results indicate that the functional meaning of affinity for solitude may differ across developmental periods. Parents, teachers, and professionals should be aware of the different implications of affinity for solitude in childhood and adolescence and use different strategies to support children and adolescents who display affinity for solitude. Public Significance StatementAffinity for solitude is associated with more positive adjustment and less problems in adolescence than in childhood. Whereas parents and teachers should help adolescents engage in constructive activities, such as pursuing personal interests, and develop self-confidence when engaging in solitary activities, it is important to provide support for children who display a higher level of affinity for solitude to participate in social activities and to cope with challenges and difficulties in adjustment.

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“…Moreover, we aim to investigate the correlates of preference for solitude among the general adult population in Germany. Such knowledge can enrich our understanding of individual differences in social behavior, which is important because a greater preference for solitude may have consequences for well-being (which can be either positive or negative, depending on the outcome [ 12 ]) and mental health outcomes [ 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

German population norms of the preference to solitude scale and its correlates

Hajek,

Sutin,

Luchetti

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Aim Our first aim was to present norm values for the Preference for Solitude Scale by sex, age, and other sociodemographic groups. Our second aim was to evaluate the correlates of preference for solitude. Methods Data were collected in August/September 2023 from a sample of individuals (N = 5000) living in Germany aged 18 to 74 years (ensuring representativeness in terms of sex, age group and federal state for the German general adult population). The established and valid Preference for Solitude Scale (range 0 to 12, with higher values reflecting a stronger preference for solitude) was used to quantify the preference for solitude. Norm values were provided by sex and age groups. Multiple linear regressions were used to examine the correlates of preference for solitude. Results Average preference for solitude score was 7.6 (SD = 3.0; 0 to 12). The average score was 7.3 (SD = 3.0) among males and 7.9 (SD = 2.9) among females. Regressions showed that a stronger preference for solitude was associated with being female (β = .51, p < .001), being older (e.g., being 40 to 49 years compared to 18 to 29 years, β = .85, p < .001), being single (e.g., divorced compared to being single, β = -.78, p < .01), higher level of education (secondary education compared to primary education, β = .43, p < .01), never been a smoker (e.g., daily smoker compared to never smokers, β = -.61, p < .001), absence of alcohol consumption (e.g., drinking once a week compared to never drinking, β = -1.09, p < .001), no sports activity (e.g., 2–4 hours per week compared to no sports activity, β = -.60, p < .001), poorer self-rated health (β = .28, p < .001) and more depressive symptoms (β = .05, p < .001). Sex-stratified regressions yielded similar results. Conclusion Norm values provided in this study can be used as a benchmark for comparison with other countries and can guide further research dealing with preferences for solitude. We demonstrated the importance of several sociodemographic factors (e.g., marital status), lifestyle-related factors (e.g., sports activity), and health-related factors (e.g., depressive symptoms) for the preference for solitude. Such knowledge about the correlates of preference for solitude may help to characterize them. This is essential to ensure a good balance between social interaction and being alone. This is important because preference for solitude is associated with poor self-rated health and depression, but also with healthy behaviors such as abstaining from smoking and drinking

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Examining the Relationship Between Preference for Solitude and Subjective Well-Being Among Japanese Older Adults

Cited by 9 publications

References 34 publications

Impact of subjective well-being on physical frailty in middle-aged and elderly Japanese with high social isolation

Impact of subjective well-being on physical frailty in middle-aged and elderly Japanese with high social isolation

Affinity for solitude in Chinese children and adolescents: Relations with social, school, and psychological adjustment.

German population norms of the preference to solitude scale and its correlates

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