Poster #222 - A Longitudinal Person-Centered Examination of Affinity for Aloneness and Social Anxiety Among Children and Adolescents

• In Event: 2-163 - Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

Extensive research has highlighted the positive impact that social interactions have on the psychosocial adjustment of children and adolescents (e.g., Morison & Masten, 1991). However, little is known about the adjustment of youth who have an affinity for aloneness (AFA; a tendency to enjoy spending time alone; Goossens, 2014). Of the research that does exist, there are mixed results regarding the implications of having an AFA during childhood and adolescence (e.g., Larson & Lee, 1996; Teppers et al., 2014), perhaps due to the fact that individuals choose to spend time alone for different reasons. For instance, some children and adolescents may spend time alone because they’re socially anxious, while others may do so simply because they enjoy it. As such, a person-centered approach to this topic is warranted in order to determine (a) whether these groups exist during childhood and adolescence, (b) if the same groups can be found one year later, and (c) whether transitioning from one group to another over time is associated with differences in psychosocial adjustment. Children (n=415; Mage=9.77; 51.8% male) and early adolescents (n=593; Mage=12.22; 48.6% male) completed measures of AFA (e.g., “I enjoy being by myself”), social anxiety (SA; e.g., “I am afraid other students my age will not like me”; SASC; La Greca et al., 1988), and 2 indicators of adjustment [i.e., friendship quality (IPPA; Armsden & Greensberg, 1987) and self-esteem (R-SES; Rosenberg, 1965)] at two time points one year apart. Results of latent profile analyses indicated that for both children and adolescents, four distinct groups could be differentiated based on AFA and SA responses (see Figure 1). More adolescents than children were classified into the high AFA with low/moderate SA group, indicating a potential developmental difference. The same profiles emerged at Time 2. Latent transition analysis indicated that the patterns of responses to the AFA and SA questions between Time 1 and 2 were invariant. Further, children and adolescents who stayed in (1) the high AFA with low/moderate SA group or (2) the low AFA with low SA group (i.e., normative group), or (3) that moved from one of these two groups to the other, did not differ on the adjustment indicators at Time 2, after controlling for Time 1 scores (ps > .05; see Table 1; note that a report of movers and stayers for all four groups in the latent profile analyses will be presented at the conference). Taken together, these results indicate that there are distinct groups of children and adolescents that can be differentiated based on their AFA and SA scores. Moreover, children and adolescents who enjoy spending time alone but report low/moderate levels of SA do not appear to differ in adjustment from the normative group. These findings suggest that concerns surrounding children and adolescents who enjoy spending time alone may be unwarranted and may lead to the pathologization of normative, healthy behaviour.

Authors

• Owen Daly, Brock University
  Presenting Author

• Teena Willoughby, Brock University
  Non-Presenting Author