A systematic review and meta-analysis of personal and contextual characteristics related to time spent in solitude

Many people spend a considerable portion of their daily lives alone, that is, in solitude. Yet relatively little is known about how individuals differ in the amount of time they spend in solitude. Individual differences in solitude likely reflect a combination of personal dispositions and contextual factors but knowledge is scattered across subfields. Therefore, this preregistered meta-analytic review integrated research from 23 studies (N_total = 52,236) to identify which personal or contextual characteristics relate to time spent in solitude. Random-effects meta-analyses indicated that spending more time in solitude than other people related to higher risks of adverse psychological experiences including lower well-being (r = -0.10) and higher loneliness (r = 0.28). More time in solitude was also linked to less adaptive personality trait expression (r = -0.08). People with larger close-tie social networks spent considerably less time in solitude (r = -0.39). Support for positive aspects of solitude was limited, overall, although individuals with more pronounced solitude motives also spent more time alone (r = 0.11). No significant meta-analytic associations with gender, age, and education emerged. However, effect sizes differed substantially across studies and there was little consensus on measures. Taken together, spending more time in solitude was more consistently associated with adverse than adaptive outcomes. We discuss implications for theories of social contact and well-being. We also highlight critical gaps in knowledge and chart paths in measurement and study design towards a better scientific understanding of solitude.