The Handbook of Solitude Psychological Perspectives on Social Isolation, Social Withdrawal, and Being Alone

Learn more about the positive and negative psychological effects of solitude, isolation, and being alone in this expertly edited resource

It has never been more important to understand the impact of solitude. The newly revised and updated second edition of The Handbook Of Solitude: Psychological Perspectives On Social Isolation, Social Withdrawal, and Being Alone delivers another comprehensive academic volume of psychological research on the topic of solitude. This second edition includes a new organizational framework that considers both contemporary and emerging conceptual perspectives along with a more nuanced approach to the significance of context in the study of solitude. There is also an increased focus on clinical, developmental, and social psychological perspectives.

The latest edition also offers new discussions regarding recent trends in the positive aspects of solitude, including a new chapter on mindfulness, and provides more detailed coverage of the emerging impact of social media and computer gaming on psychological health and well-being across the lifespan. Scholars from across the world have contributed to this volume, coming from countries including Australia, Canada, China, Finland, Greece, Poland, South Korea and the USA, among others.

The editors offer a broad and complete perspective that will appeal to many disciplines within psychology, and the book provides accessible content that is relatively brief in length and edited to remove unnecessary technical jargon. The book also includes:

• Lengthy discussions of historical and theoretical perspectives on solitude, including the phenomenon of social withdrawal in childhood
• An exploration of the significance of close relationships, including with peers and parents, on experiences of being alone and psychological well-being
• A treatment of the neuroscientific and evolutionary perspectives on shyness and social withdrawal
• A comprehensive section on solitude across the lifespan, including expressions of shyness in infancy and childhood, the causes and consequences of playing alone in childhood, social withdrawal in adolescence and emerging adulthood, being single in adulthood, and isolation, loneliness, and solitude in older adulthood
• A consideration of solitary confinement as an extreme form of social isolation
• Careful cultural consideration of solitude and related constructs with new chapters on immigration and hikikomori

Perfect for advanced undergraduate and graduate level students taking a variety of courses in developmental, biological, social, personality, organizational, health, educational, cognitive, and clinical psychology, the second edition of The Handbook Of Solitude has also earned a place in the libraries of researchers and scholars in these, and related psychological disciplines.

Robert J. Coplan, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University and Director of the Pickering Centre for Research in Human Development. His research focuses on the development and implications of shyness and social withdrawal, from early childhood to emerging adulthood, and across cultures.  

Julie C. Bowker is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Her research focus is on socio-emotional development and psychopathology during late childhood and early adolescence. 

Larry J. Nelson, PhD, is Professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Maryland. His research focuses on factors related to flourishing and floundering in the transition to adulthood including the role of social withdrawal, parenting, and culture.  

I. HISTORICAL & THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

1. Something Old and Something New: Historical and Recent Perspectives on the Study of Solitude *

Robert J. Coplan (Carleton University, Canada)

Julie C. Bowker (University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, USA)

Larry J. Nelson (Brigham Young University, USA)

2. Social Withdrawal in Childhood: History and Theory *

Kenneth Rubin (University of Maryland, USA)

3. An Attachment Perspective on Loneliness and the Need to Belong

Mario Mikulincer (Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Israel)

Phillip R. Shaver (University of California Davis, USA)

4. Neuroscientific and Evolutionary Perspectives on Shyness and Social Withdrawal *

Louis Schmidt (McMaster University, Canada)

5. Revisiting the Benefits of Solitude *

Evangelia Galanaki (University of Athens, Greece)

6. Cultural Perspectives on the Study of Solitude *

Xinyin Chen (University of Pennsylvania, USA)

Junsheng Liu (East China Normal University, China)

7. The Quiet Revolution *

Susan Cain

II. SOLITUDE ACROSS THE LIFESPAN

8. Positive and Negative Expressions of Shyness in Infancy and Childhood *

Cristina Colonnesi (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)

9. The Causes and Consequences of Playing Alone in Childhood

Robert J. Coplan (Carleton University, Canada)

10. Peer Rejection in Childhood

Drew Nesdale (Griffith University, Australia)

Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck (Griffith University, Australia)

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