TY - JOUR
T1 - Experiential correlates of time alone in adolescence
AU - Larson, Reed
AU - Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly
PY - 1978/12
Y1 - 1978/12
N2 - Seven hundred and fifty‐three observations were collected on 25 adolescents at random times during an average week. The observations consisted of self‐reports completed in response to an electronic pager. The study was aimed at the question: What is the experience of time alone like for adolescents? The results suggest a complex but consistent relationship: while aloneness is generally a negative experience, those adolescents who spend a moderate amount of time alone (about 30 percent of their waking time) tend to show better overall adjustment than adolescents who are either never alone or spend more than the optimal proportion of time alone. Alienation and average moods showed inverse linear or quadratic relationships with amount of time alone. These results are discussed in terms of the possible psycho‐social functions of aloneness at the adolescent stage of the life cycle.
AB - Seven hundred and fifty‐three observations were collected on 25 adolescents at random times during an average week. The observations consisted of self‐reports completed in response to an electronic pager. The study was aimed at the question: What is the experience of time alone like for adolescents? The results suggest a complex but consistent relationship: while aloneness is generally a negative experience, those adolescents who spend a moderate amount of time alone (about 30 percent of their waking time) tend to show better overall adjustment than adolescents who are either never alone or spend more than the optimal proportion of time alone. Alienation and average moods showed inverse linear or quadratic relationships with amount of time alone. These results are discussed in terms of the possible psycho‐social functions of aloneness at the adolescent stage of the life cycle.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84985234377&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84985234377&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1978.tb00191.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1978.tb00191.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84985234377
SN - 0022-3506
VL - 46
SP - 677
EP - 693
JO - Journal of Personality
JF - Journal of Personality
IS - 4
ER -