Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Embracing me-time: Motivation for solitude during transition to college

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Motivation and Emotion Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present research examined the role of university students’ motivation for spending time alone in their adjustment to college life, as well as the parenting correlates of students’ healthy motivation for solitude. Two studies were conducted on first-year college students in the United States (n = 147) and Canada (n = 223). In Study 1, data was collected at three different time points, separated by two-week intervals. In Study 2, data was collected at two different time points, separated by a month. The results revealed that, for those who reported perceiving lower social belonging, approaching solitary time for autonomous reasons was linked to greater self-esteem (Study 1), and greater sense of relatedness to others and lower loneliness (Study 2). These findings suggest that endorsing a healthy motivation for solitude is not necessarily indicative of social ill-being. Additionally, students’ autonomous motivation for spending time alone was associated with having parents that are autonomy supportive and that promote a sense of independence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. We performed exploratory factor analyses on all the items assessing perceptions of parents in Study 1. For both set of items about mother and father, we identified two items from the autonomy support measures that loaded onto the factor of the promotion of independence measures. Those two were: “my mother/father, whenever possible, allows me to choose what to do” and “my mother/father allows me to decide things for myself”. We also identified three other items that loaded onto a separate factor, including “my mother/father tries to tell me how to run my life”, “my mother/father insists upon my doing things his/her way”, and “my mother/father isn’t very sensitive to many of my needs”. As such, to be the most conservative with our revised measure for autonomy support, we removed all those five items and used only the four items that pertain to parents’ willingness to listen to children’s point of view and helping children make informed decisions (see “Appendix 1”). Those four items yielded satisfactory internal consistency for both scales for mother (α = 0.78) and father (α = 0.77) (see Tables 5, 6).

  2. As seen in Table 4, the correlations between Time 1 and Time 2 measures of loneliness, depression, self-esteem, relatedness ranged between 0.50 and 0.70, and the correlations between Time 2 and Time 3 measures of those outcomes ranged between 0.60 and 0.75. These high correlations suggested that there is little change over time, which would make it difficult for the lagged models to converge.

  3. While we acknowledge that such a large attrition rate is normally of concern, in the present study we experienced this issue due to a recruitment error, not necessarily because of the quality of the data or participants. Specifically, participants were supposed to receive a set amount of extra credit once they completed T1 and the remaining credit after they completed T2. However, due to an administrative error, participants mistakenly received the full compensation after completing T1. Following recommendations of the department’s SONA administrator and university ethics board, we were unable to take away the credit that was supposed to be reserved for T2, and so the incentive to actually complete T2 was relatively low.

References

  • Ainsworth, M. D., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: Assessed in the strange situation and at home. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ammaniti, M., Ercolani, A. P., & Tambelli, R. (1989). Loneliness in the female adolescent. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 18, 321–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Assor, A. (2018). The striving to develop an authentic inner compass as a key component of adolescents’ need for autonomy: Parental antecedents and effects on identity, well-being, and resilience. In B. Soenens, M. Vansteenkiste, & S. Van Petegem (Eds.), Autonomy in adolescent development: Toward conceptual clarity (pp. 119–144). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, R. W., & Siryk, B. (1984). Measuring adjustment to college. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31(2), 179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berman, W. H., & Sperling, M. B. (1991). Parental attachment and emotional distress in the transition to college. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 20(4), 427–440.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boivin, M., Hymel, S., & Bukowski, W. M. (1995). The roles of social withdrawal, peer rejection, and victimization by peers in predicting loneliness and depressed mood in childhood. Development and Psychopathology, 7(4), 765–785.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolger, N., & Laurenceau, J. P. (2013). Intensive longitudinal methods: An introduction to diary and experience sampling research. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

  • Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchholz, E. S. (1997). The call of solitude: Alonetime in a world of attachment. New York: Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchholz, E. S., & Catton, R. (1999). Adolescents’ perceptions of aloneness and loneliness. Adolescence, 34(133), 203.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buchholz, E. S., & Chinlund, C. (1994). En route to a harmony of being: Viewing aloneness as a need in development and child analytic work. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 11(3), 357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheek, J. M., & Buss, A. H. (1981). Shyness and sociability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41(2), 330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Beyers, W., Boone, L., Deci, E. L., Van der Kaap-Deeder, J., … Ryan, R. M. (2015). Basic psychological need satisfaction, need frustration, and need strength across four cultures. Motivation and Emotion, 39(2), 216–236.

  • Chu, P. S., Saucier, D. A., & Hafner, E. (2010). Meta-analysis of the relationships between social support and well-being in children and adolescents. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 29(6), 624–645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chua, S. N., & Koestner, R. (2008). A self-determination theory perspective on the role of autonomy in solitary behavior. The Journal of Social Psychology, 148(5), 645–648.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Compas, B. E., Wagner, B. M., Slavin, L. A., & Vannatta, K. (1986). A prospective study of life events, social support, and psychological symptomatology during the transition from high school to college. American Journal of Community Psychology, 14(3), 241–257.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Connell, J. P., & Ryan, R. M. (1986). Mannual for the ASRQ: A theory and assessment of children’s self-regulation within the academic domain. Unpublished manuscript, University of Rochester, Rochester.

  • Coplan, R. J., Ooi, L. L., & Baldwin, D. (2018). Does it matter when we want to be alone? Exploring developmental timing effects in the implications of unsociability. New Ideas in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2018.01.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutrona, C. E. (1982). Transition to college: Loneliness and the process of social adjustment. In L. A. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research, and therapy (pp. 291–309). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2004). Handbook of self-determination research. Rochester, NY: University Rochester Press.

  • Dyson, R., & Renk, K. (2006). Freshmen adaptation to university life: Depressive symptoms, stress, and coping. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(10), 1231–1244.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fousiani, K., Van Petegem, S., Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., & Chen, B. (2014). Does parental autonomy support relate to adolescent autonomy? An in-depth examination of a seemingly simple question. Journal of Adolescent Research, 29(3), 299–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galanaki, E. (2004). Are children able to distinguish among the concepts of aloneness, loneliness, and solitude? International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28(5), 435–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goossens, L., Lasgaard, M., Luyckx, K., Vanhalst, J., Mathias, S., & Masy, E. (2009). Loneliness and solitude in adolescence: A confirmatory factor analysis of alternative models. Personality and Individual Differences, 47(8), 890–894.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grolnick, W. S., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (1991). Inner resources for school achievement: Motivational mediators of children’s perceptions of their parents. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83(4), 508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halamandaris, K. F., & Power, K. G. (1999). Individual differences, social support and coping with the examination stress: A study of the psychosocial and academic adjustment of first year home students. Personality and Individual Differences, 26(4), 665–685.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hann, D., Winter, K., & Jacobsen, P. (1999). Measurement of depressive symptoms in cancer patients: Evaluation of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 46(5), 437–443.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holmbeck, G. N., & Wandrei, M. L. (1993). Individual and relational predictors of adjustment in first-year college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 40(1), 73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 102–138). New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joiner, T. E. Jr. (1997). Shyness and low social support as interactive diatheses, with loneliness as mediator: Testing an interpersonal-personality view of vulnerability to depressive symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106(3), 386.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kernis, M. H., & Goldman, B. M. (2006). A multicomponent conceptualization of authenticity: Theory and research. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 283–357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitzrow, M. A. (2003). The mental health needs of today’s college students: Challenges and recommendations. NASPA journal, 41(1), 167–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larson, R., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1978). Experiential correlates of time alone in adolescence. Journal of Personality, 46(4), 677–693.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larson, R. W. (1990). The solitary side of life: An examination of the time people spend alone from childhood to old age. Developmental Review, 10(2), 155–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larson, R. W. (1997). The emergence of solitude as a constructive domain of experience in early adolescence. Child Development, 68(1), 80–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leary, M. R., Herbst, K. C., & McCrary, F. (2003). Finding pleasure in solitary activities: Desire for aloneness or disinterest in social contact? Personality and Individual Differences, 35, 59–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loevinger, J., & Blasi, A. (1991). Development of the self as subject. In J. Strauss & G. R. Goethals (Eds.), The self: Interdisciplinary approaches (pp. 150–167). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Long, C. R., Seburn, M., Averill, J. R., & More, T. A. (2003). Solitude experiences: Varieties, settings, and individual differences. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203029005003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez, F. G., Campbell, V. L., & Watkins, C. E. (1988). Family structure, psychological separation, and college adjustment: A canonical analysis and cross-validation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 35(4), 402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcoen, A., & Goossens, L. (1993). Loneliness, attitude toward aloneness, and solitude—Age differences and developmental significance during adolescence. In S. Jackson & H. Rodriguez-Tome (Eds.), Adolescence and its social worlds (pp. 197–227). Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcoen, A., Goossens, L., & Caes, P. (1987). Lonelines in pre-through late adolescence: Exploring the contributions of a multidimensional approach. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16(6), 561–577.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morelli, G. A., Rogoff, B., Oppenheim, D., & Goldsmith, D. (1992). Cultural variation in infants’ sleeping arrangements: Questions of independence. Developmental Psychology, 28(4), 604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mounts, N. S., Valentiner, D. P., Anderson, K. L., & Boswell, M. K. (2006). Shyness, sociability, and parental support for the college transition: Relation to adolescents’ adjustment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35(1), 68–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nezlek, J. B. (2001). Multilevel random coefficient analyses of event-and interval-contingent data in social and personality psychology research. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(7), 771–785.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, T. T., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2018). Solitude as an approach to affective self-regulation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217733073.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Otis, N., Grouzet, F. M., & Pelletier, L. G. (2005). Latent motivational change in an academic setting: A 3-year longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 97(2), 170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raudenbush, S. W., Bryk, A. S., Cheong, Y. F., Congdon, R., & Du Toit, M. (2011). Hierarchical linear and nonlinear modeling (HLM7). Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International.

  • Rosenberg, M. (1965). Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSE). Acceptance and commitment therapy. Measures Package, 61, 52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., & Cutrona, C. E. (1980). The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(3), 472–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., & Ferguson, M. L. (1978). Developing a measure of loneliness. Journal of Personality Assessment, 42(3), 290–294.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., & Connell, J. P. (1989). Perceived locus of causality and internalization: examining reasons for acting in two domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 749–761.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York: Guilford Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarason, I. G., Levine, H. M., Basham, R. B., et al. (1983). Assessing social support: The Social Support Questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 127–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silk, J. S., Morris, A. S., Kanaya, T., & Steinberg, L. (2003). Psychological control and autonomy granting: Opposite ends of a continuum or distinct constructs? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13(1), 113–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., Luyckx, K., Goossens, L., Beyers, W., & Ryan, R. M. (2007). Conceptualizing parental autonomy support: Adolescent perceptions of promotion of independence versus autonomy support. Developmental Psychology, 43(3), 633.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suedfeld, P. (1982). Aloneness as a healing experience. In L. A. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research, and therapy (pp. 291–309). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valentin, S. R. (2005). Commentary: Sleep in German infant—The “cult” of independence. Pediatrics, 115(1), 269–271.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vanhalst, J., Luyckx, K., & Goossens, L. (2014). Experiencing loneliness in adolescence: A matter of individual characteristics, negative peer experiences, or both? Social Development, 23(1), 100–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J. M., Rubin, K. H., Laursen, B., Booth-LaForce, C., & Rose-Krasnor, L. (2013). Preference-for-solitude and adjustment difficulties in early and late adolescence. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 42, 834–842.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winnicott, D. W. (1958). The capacity to be alone. The International Journal of Psycho-analysis, 39, 416.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wintre, M. G., & Yaffe, M. (2000). First-year students’ adjustment to university life as a function of relationships with parents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 15(1), 9–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Social Sciences of Psychology, University of Rochester, 498-A Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY, USA

    Thuy-vy T. Nguyen

  2. Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Kaitlyn M. Werner

  3. Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Bart Soenens

Authors
  1. Thuy-vy T. Nguyen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kaitlyn M. Werner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bart Soenens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thuy-vy T. Nguyen.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Please answer the following questions about your mother and your father. If you do not have any contact with one of your parents (for example, your father), but there is another adult of the same gender living with your house (for example, a stepfather) then please answer the questions about that other adult.

If you have no contact with one of your parents, and there is not another adult of that same gender with whom you live, then leave the questions about that parent blank.

Response scale:

1 = not at all true; –; 7—VERY TRUE.

Promotion of independence (Fousiani et al. 2014)

My mother/my father

  1. 1.

    thinks it’s important that I can solve problems without him/her

  2. 2.

    thinks it’s important for me to learn to stand on my own legs

  3. 3.

    wants me to make decisions on my own

  4. 4.

    thinks it’s important that I am independent

  5. 5.

    wants me to make choices on my own

  6. 6.

    thinks I should take care of my own business

Autonomy support (Grolnick et al. 1991)

My mother/my father

  1. 1.

    seems to know how I feel about things*

  2. 2.

    tries to tell me how to run my life

  3. 3.

    whenever possible, allows me to choose what to do

  4. 4.

    listens to my opinion or perspective when I’ve got a problem*

  5. 5.

    allows me to decide things for myself

  6. 6.

    insists upon my doing things her way

  7. 7.

    is usually willing to consider things from my point of view*

  8. 8.

    helps me to choose my own direction*

  9. 9.

    isn’t very sensitive to many of my needs

Appendix 2

Autonomous motivation for spending time alone.

Think of times when you are by yourself. Those are times when you do not interact with anyone in person or virtually. You might be by yourself either because you want or choose to be by yourself, or because you just happen to be by yourself without intending to, or because you have to or feel like you should stay by yourself. Different people spend time by themselves for different reasons. Please indicate the extent to which each of the following reasons applies to you and all the instances when you are by yourself in general. Please choose 1 if the reason does not apply to you at all and 7 if the reason applies to you very much.

Response scale: 1 = this does not apply to me at all; 4 = this somewhat applies to me; 7 = this applies to me very much

  1. 1.

    Because I simply enjoy being with myself (SRQ1)

  2. 2.

    For the pleasure of being with myself (SRQ2)

  3. 3.

    Because having time to myself is important and beneficial to me (SRQ3)

  4. 4.

    Because I really value having time to myself (SRQ4)

  5. 5.

    Because I would feel bad if I didn’t do it (SRQ5)

  6. 6.

    Because I feel that is what everyone else does so I should too (SRQ6)

  7. 7.

    Because of some external circumstances that make me (SRQ7)

  8. 8.

    I would get in trouble with others if I didn’t (SRQ8)

INTRINSIC MOTIVATION::

SRQ1, SRQ2

IDENTIFIED REGULATION::

SRQ3, SRQ4

INTROJECTED REGULATION::

SRQ5, SRQ6

EXTERNAL REGULATION::

SRQ7, SQR8

$${\text{Relative autonomy index }}={\text{ INTRINSIC}} ^{\ast} {\text{2 }}+{\text{ IDENTIFIED}}*{\text{1 }} - {\text{ INTROJECTED}}*{\text{1 }} - {\text{ EXTERNAL}}^{\ast} {\text{2}}$$

Check scale correlation to see if simplex pattern of correlations shows up (Deci and Ryan 1985; Otis et al. 2005).

  • Intrinsic motivation correlates positively and more strongly with identified regulation, less with introjected and external regulations

  • External regulation correlates positively and more strongly with introjected regulation, less with identified regulation and intrinsic motivation

  • External regulation shows the strongest negative correlation with intrinsic motivation and identified regulation

  • Introjected regulation shows moderate negative correlation or no correlation with intrinsic motivation and identified regulation

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nguyen, Tv.T., Werner, K.M. & Soenens, B. Embracing me-time: Motivation for solitude during transition to college. Motiv Emot 43, 571–591 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-019-09759-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-019-09759-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation