Poster #231 - What do I do with myself? Comparing solitary activities in adolescents and emerging adults.

• In Event: 3-159 - Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

It has been suggested that adolescents and emerging adults may benefit from time spent alone more than other age groups (Coplan, Ooi, & Baldwin, 2018). This may be because, under certain conditions, solitude can facilitate developmentally pertinent processes, such as individuation and identity formation (Buchholz & Catton, 1999; Goossens & Marcoen, 1999). Previous studies of solitude have focused on attitudes about time alone, motivations to spend time alone, and frequency of time spent alone (Goossens, 2014; Larson, 1990). In contrast, little is known about what adolescents and emerging adults do when they are alone. Developmental differences in the structure of solitary activities help to account for how solitude may differentially impart benefits to adolescents vs. emerging adults. Consequently, this study sought to characterize and compare the content of solitary activities among adolescents and emerging adults.
Participants included N=411 adolescents (283 females, M=16.11 years, SD=.43) and N=334 emerging adults (258 females, M=18.86 years, SD=1.12). Adolescents attended local high schools and emerging adults were first- and second-year psychology students. Participants completed a series of questionnaires online, including the amount of time spent alone in the last week, and the three most common activities they engage in when alone. Drawing upon previous theory and research (e.g., King et al., 2009), activities were coded independently (Cohen’s kappas among pairs of coders ranging from .92 to .95) into eleven categories (see Table 1).
Analysis of age differences indicated that emerging adults reported spending significantly more time alone than adolescents, t(727)=-8.16, p<.001. In terms of the content of their solitary activities, adolescents reported spending more time engaged in relaxation, χ2=(1,702)=13.28, p<.001, positive/cognitive, χ2=(1,702)=42.20, p<.001, negative thinking, χ2= (1,702)=8.55, p=.003, and doing nothing, χ2=(1,702)=6.36, p=.012. In contrast, emerging adults reported spending more time engaged in passive screen time, χ2=(1,702)=9.88, p=.002, homework, χ2=(1,702)=22.47, p<.001, and routine, χ2=(1,702)=20.02, p<.001 (see Figure 1). Gender differences were also found, with women reporting spending more time engaged in passive screen time, χ2=(1,739)=10.04, p=.002, negative thinking, χ2=(1,739)=4.24, p=.039, homework, χ2=(1,739)=9.41, p=.002, and routine, χ2=(1,739)=9.45, p=.002, and men spending more time playing video games, χ2=(1,739)=116.05, p<.001. There were no significant Age x Gender interactions.
Our results support the notion that time spent alone follows an increasing trajectory from childhood to emerging adulthood (Larson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1980; Larson et al., 1982; Larson & Richards, 1991). This difference could be attributed to increased responsibilities and school work, or the increased social isolation experienced by students in first year university (Özdemir & Tuncay, 2008). The observed gender differences were consistent with previous studies suggesting that women are more likely to use rumination as a coping strategy (Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 2013) and are more conscientious than men (Costa et al., 2001). Men have also been shown to spend more time playing video games than women (Desai et al., 2010). Finally, our findings suggest that adolescents and emerging adults are using their alone time differently, which will be discussed in terms of potential implications for wellbeing.

Authors

• Morgan Dufour, Carleton University
  Presenting Author

• Lori K. Watanabe, Carleton University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Will E Hipson, Carleton University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kristen Archbell, Carleton University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Robert J Coplan, Carleton University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Julie C Bowker, University at Buffalo, SUNY
  Non-Presenting Author