Is It Weird to Enjoy Solitude? Relationship of Solitude Capacity with Personality Traits and Physical and Mental Health in Junior College Students

Pin-Hsuan Lin, Po-Yu Wang, Ying-Lien Lin and Shang-Yu Yang
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Pin-Hsuan Lin: Department of Health and Beauty, Shu Zen Junior College of Medicine and Management, Kaohsiung 821, Taiwan
Po-Yu Wang: Department of Pediatric Emergency, Changhua Christian Children Hospital, Changhua 500, Taiwan
Ying-Lien Lin: Department of Industrial and Information Management, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Shang-Yu Yang: Department of Healthcare Administration, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taichung 413, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-13

Abstract: Background : Teenagers described as enjoying their own company have been claimed to have a weird personality and experience loneliness and negative emotions and have often been labeled with negative attributes. However, previous studies have provided a limited understanding of teenagers’ capacity for solitude. Objectives : The purpose of this study was to explore the correlations between teenagers’ capacity for solitude and both personality traits and physical and mental health. Methods : This study employed a cross-sectional research design and collected data from a junior college located in Taiwan using a structured questionnaire, which consisted of demographic questions, a solitude capacity scale, a personality trait scale, and a physical and mental health scale. Results : A total of 562 participants were recruited (age = 17.56 ± 1.58 years). The total score of the solitude capacity scale was significantly correlated with four elements of the personality traits subscale: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness. The solitude capacity subscale (i.e., the solitude-coping subscale) showed significant correlations with two of the physical and mental health elements, i.e., anxiety and insomnia and severe depression. Conclusions : The results verified the correlations between capacity for solitude and personality traits and did not show a positive association with negative personality traits (i.e., neuroticism). Moreover, the solitude coping capacity correlated positively with anxiety levels and negatively with depression.

Keywords: solitude capacity; personality traits; physical and mental health; college students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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