Detrixhe,
Jonathan (1/11) Solitude’s paradox: the role of object relations and attachment
in the capacity to be alone (Lisa Samstag, Ph.D.; Linda Penn, Ph.D.; Philip
Wong, Ph.D.)
The present study hypothesized that the
quality of one's object relations and attachment help determine attitude toward
solitude and wellbeing, and further, that attitude toward solitude helps
transmit the positive effects of attachment and object relations to wellbeing.
A "bootstrapping" model of mediation analysis (Preacher & Hayes,
2008) was employed to test these hypotheses, resulting in three significant
mediation effects and one significant suppression effect. The tendency to use
solitude to relax ( Capacity to Be Alone Scale; CBAS Solitary Comfort; Larson
& Lee, 1996) mediated the positive relationship between attachment-related
anxiety (Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire - Revised ; ECR-R
Anxiety; Fraley, Waller, and Brennan, 2000a) and loneliness (UCLA Loneliness
Scale, Version 3 ; UCLA-LS; Russell, 1996). Unsociability, or the tendency to
choose solitary over social experiences (Sociability Scale ; SS Reverse Scored;
Cheek & Buss, 1981), mediated the positive relationship between
attachment-related avoidance (ECR-R Avoidance) and loneliness (UCLA-LS).
Unsociability (SS Reverse Scored) also mediated the positive relationship
between the degree of differentiation and relatedness in participant
descriptions of mother, father, self, and significant other ( Object Relations
Inventory Differentiation-Relatedness Scale ; ORI D-R; Diamond, Blatt, Stayner,
& Kaslow, 1991) and loneliness (UCLA-LS). Finally, the tendency to use
solitude to relax (CBAS Solitary Comfort) suppressed the positive relationship
between the degree of differentiation and relatedness in descriptions of others
(ORI D-R) and loneliness (UCLA-LS). No significant direct effect was found
between the degree of maturity in descriptions of others ( Object Relations
Inventory Conceptual Level Scale ; ORI CL; Blatt, Wein, Chevron, & Quinlan,
1979) and the UCLA-LS, and no meditation effects were shown for the models with
ORI CL as the independent variable. Though not all the hypotheses were
supported, these findings suggest that there is a process by which, in a
non-clinical sample, one's quality of attachment and object relations influence
self-reported loneliness through one's attitude toward solitude. This further
suggests that attitude toward solitude is not a distinct personality construct,
separate from quality of attachment and object relatedness. On the contrary, it
appears that solitude, object relations, and attachment theories may be able to
inform and expand each other.
