Solo and Satisfied? Investigating Daily Solitude Experiences in Older Age

Solo and Satisfied? 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Investigating Daily Solitude Experiences in Older Age Laura Rae, Larissa Roberts, Bethany Wilton-Harding, Amy Rauer, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7634316/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Solitude (the objective state of being alone without social interaction) can have both negative and positive implications for wellbeing in older age. This study examined (1) whether changes in older adults’ day-to-day time spent in solitude were associated with positive affect and sense of purpose, and (2) whether such associations were moderated by interindividual difference factors. Using online daily assessments conducted every evening for 10 consecutive days ( N = 189, ages: 64–84 years), we examined the moderating roles of future time perspective, control beliefs, and educational attainment on the relationship between daily solitude and daily wellbeing. Multilevel analysis revealed that on days when people spent greater-than-usual time alone, they reported lower positive affect and lower sense of purpose. No moderating effects were found for future time perspective or control beliefs on the relationships between daily solitude and positive wellbeing. Participants with greater educational attainment reported lower positive affect when spending more time alone than average. Our findings provide evidence that wellbeing tends to be lower on days when older adults spend more time alone, supporting the importance of social context as a conduit to daily wellbeing experiences in later life. positive solitude intraindividual variability control beliefs future time perspective Figures Figure 1 Introduction Older adults spend significantly more time alone than younger or middle-aged adults—approximately half of their day on average, increasing up to 71% in the oldest old (aged 85+; Chen & Liu, 2023 ; Hoppmann et al., 2021 ). Research suggests that some people are more likely to experience solitude positively than others (e.g., Pauly et al., 2018 ). However, research examining everyday experiences of solitude in older age, and in particular the phenomenon of positive solitude , is scarce. In the present study, we expanded on emerging research concerning solitude and wellbeing in two ways. First, we used a dynamic micro-longitudinal design to objectively assess positive solitude based on within-person associations of daily solitude with positive affect and sense of purpose), occurring from day-to-day in a sample of older adults who completed daily diary assessments over 10 days. Second, we examined theoretically relevant individual difference factors that could influence the extent to which experiencing periods of greater solitude was associated with lower levels of wellbeing on a day-to-day basis, focusing specifically on the extent to which future time perspective , control beliefs , and educational attainment moderated associations between time spent alone and positive affect and sense of purpose. Solitude and Wellbeing: Empirical Evidence Empirical findings on the relationship between solitude and wellbeing indicate that spending time alone can have both deleterious and rejuvenating effects on wellbeing. For example, a micro-longitudinal study found that on days when people spent more time alone than usual, they had lower levels of affective wellbeing (Chui et al., 2014 ). However, the sample ( N = 74) was restricted to oldest-old adults, limiting generalizability. Similarly, Lam and García-Román ( 2020 ) found that older adults reported lower life satisfaction and less happiness when they spent large amounts of their day in solitude, compared to when they spent time with others. Some research, however, points to positive aspects of solitude. Time in solitude has been linked to positive affect in older age and better regulating of emotions (Nguyen et al., 2018 ; Toyoshima & Sato, 2019 ), cognitive and metacognitive processes such as greater concentration, alertness, higher self-acceptance (Manalastas, 2010 ) and greater introspection (i.e., the ability to reflect on and experience one’s own thoughts, feelings, behaviours, attitudes, and beliefs; Thomas, 2021 ), and physiological indicators of lower arousal/stress (e.g., reduced heart rate and muscle tension, lower blood pressure, decrease in salivary cortisol, regulating of immune system activity; Matarese & Salmon, 2013; Ost-Mor et al., 2021 ). Taken together, the literature points to the potential for solitude to either undermine or support aspects of wellbeing. However, the research tradition related to positive solitude is relatively new, and many studies have focused on younger adults (e.g., Wang et al., 2013 ; Zhou et al., 2023). Furthermore, the role of individual difference factors that could lead to variation in how people experience solitude remains underexplored. Our focus in the present study, therefore, was on examining whether associations of solitude with aspects of daily wellbeing varied as a function of individual difference factors with relevance to self-regulation (e.g., Lachman et al., 2011 ) and social motivation (e.g., Huxhold et al., 2022 ; Lang & Carstensen, 2002 ) in later life. Theoretical Framework Currently, there are no established theoretical models that explicitly identify the array of factors that could influence the nature of solitude experiences over the lifespan. In the absence of such models, we drew on a recent lifespan perspective on social relations the Differential Investment of Resources Model (DIRe; Huxhold et al., 2022 ) to inform our conceptual approach. Although the DIRe model focuses predominantly on factors that shape investment of time and energy into social ties, the model also identifies how social relationships impact wellbeing through social functions. Most relevant to the question of solitude is the specific function of social exchanges  social interactions experienced in daily life that can have both positive impacts on wellbeing, such as stimulating positive affect (e.g., Ingersoll-Dayton et al., 1997 ) or encouraging meaningful interaction (Carstensen, 1992 ), and negative impacts, such as exposure to tensions, disagreements, or other interpersonal stressors (Birditt et al., 2019 ; Cohen, 2004 ). Given that solitude represents an absence of social exchanges, people who generally experience warm, supportive exchanges may suffer from their absence, whereas those more accustomed to problematic or energy-depleting relationships may experience relief from solitude. A second factor likely to determine the quality of solitude experiences concerns how people use time to themselves. Once again drawing on the DIRe perspective, which highlights how individual difference characteristics (capacities, motivations, and skills) drive investment into social relationships, we focused on how key aspects of motivation relate to solitude experiences (Huxhold et al., 2022 ). Here, we focused on two theoretically relevant variables that have received considerable research attention in the context of lifespan differences in social relationships, wellbeing, and self-regulation; namely, future time perspective and control beliefs. Finally, the DIRe model also considers the role of social-contextual factors in shaping social behaviour. We considered education as one such factor relevant to the present analysis. Future Time Perspective Existing research and theory suggest that individual differences in perceptions of time left to live could explain heterogeneity in later life solitude experiences. According to Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (Carstensen, 1992 ), future time perspective influences priorities, activities, and preferences across the lifespan. The sense that time is running out is thought to become more salient in older age, shifting goal hierarchies towards maximizing emotionally meaningful experiences, intimacy, and connection with close social ties in the present, and away from future-oriented goals, such as knowledge acquisition and achievement goals (Froehlich et al., 2015 ; Kooji et al., 2018). Because connecting with loved ones may be particularly important for those with a more restricted future time perspective, time spent alone may represent a more goal-incongruent state that in turn is associated with reduced state wellbeing. On the other hand, older adults with a more open-ended future time perspective may use solitude as an opportunity to engage in future-oriented activities and goals (e.g., developing new skills) that better sustain wellbeing in solitude. Control Beliefs Substantial research evidence indicates that people with a greater sense of control over their lives have greater resources that sustain wellbeing (e.g., Lachman et al., 2006 ; Skinner, 1996 ). Our contention is that resources for adaptation, such as flexible self-regulatory skills and cognitive ability, might make those with a stronger sense of control better equipped to get the most out of solitude, compared with those who see their lives as more subject to the influence of external factors. Higher control beliefs (i.e., higher perceived mastery and lower perceived constraints) are thought to promote interest, optimism, sustained attention, problem-solving, and an action orientation (Skinner, 1996 ), which in turn may promote motivation and aid thoughts and behaviours (e.g., action, putting in effort, and persistence) that facilitate positive solitude (Skinner, 1996 ; Skinner & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2010 ). Despite evidence suggesting higher control beliefs may be a protective factor for coping and wellbeing over time, to our knowledge, no research has examined the role of control beliefs as a possible determinant of individual differences in positive solitude (Jopp & Schmitt, 2010 ; Lachman et al., 2009 ). Educational Attainment In line with several key lifespan theories (e.g., Huxhold et al., 2022 ), we acknowledge contextual factors likely have a role in experiences of solitude in later life. Specifically, we were interested in whether educational attainment as a key socioeconomic indicator could influence the relationship between solitude experiences and wellbeing. Greater early life education may provide advantages in older age (e.g., more flexible and efficient neural networks, and better performance on neuropsychological tasks; Leon et al., 2014 ), which in turn could increase engagement in activities thought to facilitate positive solitude. Indeed, extensive studies measuring cognitive reserve in older adults have shown positive associations with educational attainment and engagement in leisure activities (many of which can be done alone) that could promote positive solitude (e.g., reading newspapers or books, listening to music, gardening, handicraft, artistic activities such as painting or playing an instrument; Nucci et al., 2012 ; Opdebeeck et al., 2016 ). The Current Study We expanded on previous solitude research by using an ecologically valid micro-longitudinal design to examine within- and between-person variance in daily solitude, and how they relate to positive affect and sense of purpose in the lives of older adults. Consistent with previous research (e.g., Chui et al., 2014 ), we expected that, on average, on days when older adults spent more time alone than is average for them, there would be corresponding decreases in sense of purpose and positive affect. At the same time, we expected there would be interindividual variation in these associations, with some individuals likely to show no association (or even a positive association) of solitude with wellbeing outcomes, which we considered to be indicative of greater capacity for positive solitude. By taking a slopes-as-outcome approach (Humberg et al., 2024 ), we examined whether between-person differences in control beliefs and future time perspective were associated with positive solitude, operationalised as the within-person covariation of daily solitude with positive affect and sense of purpose. We also examined whether educational attainment moderated the relationship between time spent in solitude and wellbeing. We hypothesised that: Control beliefs would moderate the negative within-person association between daily solitude and wellbeing. Specifically, for those with higher control beliefs, we expected that greater time spent in solitude would show weaker negative associations with positive affect and sense of purpose, compared to those with lower control beliefs. Future time perspective would moderate the negative within-person association between daily solitude and wellbeing. Specifically, for those with more open-ended future time perspective, we expected greater time spent in solitude would show weaker negative associations with positive affect and sense of purpose, compared to those with more limited future time perspective. Educational attainment would moderate the negative within-person association between daily solitude and wellbeing. Specifically, for those with higher levels of educational attainment we expected that greater time spent in solitude would show weaker negative associations with positive affect and sense of purpose, compared to those with lower levels of educational attainment. To account for additional interindividual factors likely to influence experiences of solitude in later life, we examined our key associations of interest while controlling for relevant demographics (gender, age, ethnicity), contextual factors (relationship status, co-resident status) and physical functioning. Method Participants Data in the current study were collected from a larger survey on the daily social lives of older adults developed in collaboration between Flinders University and Adelphi University. The study was approved by the Flinders University Human Research Ethics Committee. Participants aged over 65 years, residing in the US, and fluent in English were invited to respond to 10 daily (10-minute) online surveys, as well as a 15–20-minute baseline and end-of study survey. Data coverage over the 10-day study period was good, with 79% of participants completing questionnaires on all 10 days. Simulation data reported by Arend and Schäfer ( 2019 ) indicated that a sample size of 150 was required to detect a significant cross-level interaction of medium effect size (0.33) with 80% power, in a two-level multilevel model with 10 repeated assessments, assuming a medium slope variance for the Level 1 predictor. In the present study, 223 adults aged 64–86 years were initially recruited. After excluding participants with missing data on Level 2 (between-person) predictors, our final analytical sample consisted of N = 189 ( M age = 69.79, SD = 3.78). Demographic information is shown in Table 1 . Table 1 Demographic Characteristics and Bivariate Correlations of Central Study Variables and Control Variables Variable M (SD), % 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1. Time Alone 9.21 (8.32) 2. Age 69.94 (3.78) 0.02 3. Physical Functioning 69.52 (27.06) -0.17 -0.05 4. Lives Alone 40.74 0.64 0.07 -0.01 5. Gender (female) 59.79 0.16 -0.08 -0.18 0.15 6. Employed 33.33 -0.01 -0.06 0.12 -0.06 -0.02 7. Partnered 71.43 -0.33 -0.11 0.09 -0.45 -0.16 0.10 8. Not White 4.76 -0.01 -0.06 0.12 -0.03 -0.02 -0.05 -0.02 9. Education 15.27 (2.33) 0.04 0.03 0.23 0.03 0.01 0.09 0.10 -0.14 10. FTP 3.39 (1.31) -0.13 -0.13 0.31 0.03 0.02 0.02 -0.08 0.05 -0.03 11. Constraints 22.47 (11.14) 0.04 0.02 -0.42 -0.01 0.04 0.00 0.07 -0.03 -0.06 -0.52 12. Mastery 21.58 (5.16) -0.07 -0.04 0.27 0.06 -0.01 -0.05 -0.07 0.04 0.02 0.49 -0.68 13. Positive Affect 2.30 (0.81) -0.16 0.06 0.33 -0.09 -0.10 -0.04 0.02 -0.02 0.00 0.49 -0.57 0.40 14. Sense of Purpose 10.38 (3.15) -0.28 -0.06 0.24 -0.18 -0.00 -0.00 0.02 -0.00 -0.00 0.50 -0.51 0.43 0.70 Notes . Baseline N = 189. Correlations reflect cross-sectional between-person associations. FTP = Future time perspective; Constraints = Control beliefs constraints; Mastery = Control beliefs mastery. p < .05. Procedure Following approval by the Institutional Research Ethics Committee (HEG7410-4), the study was pre-registered with the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/9zuh3 ), and an advertisement was placed on Connect, CloudResearch’s online participant crowdsourcing platform (Litman et al., 2017 ). On either a computer or mobile device (e.g., smartphone or iPad), eligible participants were invited to take part in the study in August 2024. Participants were informed that participation was voluntary and that they could withdraw consent at any time. Following providing consent to be involved, participants were directed to a baseline survey with questions focused on social, wellbeing, and demographic variables. At the end of the baseline survey, participants were reminded of the dates for the diary component and encouraged to switch on their Connect notifications (email and/or SMS). A 10-day (once daily in the evening) survey period began the following week. Each evening, Connect notified participants when the survey became available. Participants who had not started the survey within an hour of it being available also received a second reminder. In the daily surveys, participants answered questions on their daily experiences, including their affective experiences and social context (as per Reis & Gable, 2000 ). At the end of the survey period, participants were asked to complete an end-of-survey questionnaire that included social and wellbeing items. Measures Daily Solitude Daily solitude was measured by the number of hours spent alone since the same time the day prior. Based on similar items used in other solitude studies (e.g., Weinstein et al., 2023b ; Zambrano Gaza et al., 2024), participants responded either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as to whether they spent any time on their own since the day prior (i.e., “did you spend any time on your own since this time yesterday?”). If participants respond “yes” to the first response they proceeded to answering the question, “approximately how many hours did you spend on your own since this time yesterday?”. Positive Affect Positive affect was measured using four adjectives (happy, relaxed, interested, active) drawn from recent research (Hülür et al., 2015 ; 𝛼 = 0.78). On a 5-point scale (0 = no experience of the particular affect , to 4 = very intense experience of the particular affect ), participants indicated the extent to which they felt each positive affect adjective since the same time the previous day. Positive affect was measured as the average response to the four items. Generalizability Theory framework (Cranford et al., 2006 ) was used to calculate between- and within-person reliability estimates. Between-person reliability was high ( R KF = 0.87), and within-person reliability was moderate ( R C = 0.72). Daily Sense of Purpose Daily sense of purpose was measured on a 7-point scale (1 = not at all , 7 = very much ) using two items from previous diary studies (i.e., “how much did you feel your life had purpose today” and “how meaningful did you feel your life was today”; Kashdan & Nezlek, 2012 ; Newman et al., 2017). Sense of purpose was measured as the average response to both items. Between-person ( R KF = 0.99), and within-person ( R C = 0.91) reliabilities were high. Educational Attainment Participants answered the question “what is the highest degree or certification you have earned” (i.e., none; high school diploma/equivalency; Associate's [2-year college] degree or post-high school vocational certificate; Bachelor's [4-year college] degree; Master's degree/MBA; Law or MD; PhD; Other [specify]: ______; Prefer not to answer). Categories were converted into an estimated number of years of education ranging from 12 to 20 years. Specifically, none; high school diploma/equivalency = 12 years; Associate's [2-year college] or post-HS vocational certificate = 14 years; Bachelor's [4-year college] degree = 16 years; Master's degree/MBA; Law or MD = 18 years; PhD = 20 years. Control Beliefs Participants’ sense of control (i.e., control beliefs) were measured using 4 items of ‘personal mastery’ (e.g., “when I really want to do something, I usually find a way to succeed at it”), and 8 items of ‘perceived constraints’ (e.g., “I often feel helpless in dealing with the problems of life”), taken from previous studies measuring control beliefs (e.g., Brim et al., 1996 ). In the current study, internal consistency was 𝛼 = 0.89 and 0.92 for the personal mastery and perceived constraints subscales, respectively. Responses were measured on a 7-point scale (1 = strongly agree , 7 = strongly disagree ). Perceived mastery items were reverse-scored; higher scores of the combined 12 items represent higher control beliefs. Future Time Perspective Future time perspective was measured using Lang and Carstensen’s ( 2002 ) 10-item scale. Items describe future expectations of opportunities and limitations (e.g., “I expect that I will set many new goals in the future ). Participants rated their agreement to each statement on a 6-point scale from 1 ( very untrue ) to 6 ( very true ). Three negatively worded items were reverse scored; higher scores represent more open-ended future time perspective (Pfund et al., 2022 ; 𝛼 = 0.90). In the current study, the internal consistency for future time perspective was 𝛼 = 0.93. Positive and Negative Social Exchanges Positive and negative social exchanges were measured using the 24-item Positive and Negative Social Exchanges scale (PANSE; Newsom et al., 2005 ). This scale assesses 12 items of positive social exchanges in four domains (i.e., informational support, instrumental support, emotional support, companionship) and 12 items of negative social exchanges (i.e., unwanted advice or intrusion, failure to provide help, unsympathetic or insensitive behaviour, and rejection or neglect). On a scale from 0 ( never ) to 4 ( very often ), participants answered questions about the frequency of exchanges over the past month with their “spouse or partner, family members, friends, neighbours, in-laws, or others” (e.g., “In the past month how often did people you know… include you in the things they were doing”, “In the past month how often did people you know…. let you down when you needed help”; Jiang et al., 2024 ; Newsom et al., 2005 ). Total scores for each subscale range from 0 to 48, with higher scores indicating greater frequency of social exchanges. In the current study, internal consistency was 𝛼 = 0.94 for positive exchanges and 𝛼 = 0.89 for negative exchanges. Sociodemographic Characteristics Contextual factors that may contribute to positive solitude were included as covariates in the analyses. Participants reported: age as a continuous scale, gender (coded 0 = male , 1 = female ), how many people they live with (coded 0 = lives with others , 1 = lives alone ), relationship status (coded 0 = not partnered , 1 = partnered ), employment status (coded 0 = not employed , 1 = employed ), and ethnicity (coded 0 = White , 1 = other ). Physical functioning was assessed using the RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0, 10-item Physical Functioning subscale (Hays et al., 1993 ; range 0–100, with 100 representing optimum physical functioning). Statistical Analysis To examine inter- and intra-individual variation in positive affect and sense of purpose, we used multilevel modelling with maximum-likelihood estimation to distinguish between-person (Level 1) and within-person (repeated assessments at Level 1) effects. To disaggregate time-varying predictor variables, between-person scores were calculated using a person’s average score across all assessments (person-mean), centered on the sample mean (Hoppman & Stawski, 2019). Within-person scores were calculated using day specific deviations from the person-means. Time invariant continuous predictors (age, education physical functioning, future time perspective, control beliefs, positive and negative social exchanges) were centered on the sample mean. We used Snijders and Bosker’s (1994) method to calculate Pseudo- R 2 . Null random-intercept models were used to calculate intraclass correlations, which showed within-person variance of 34% for positive affect, and 28% for sense of purpose respectively. Random slopes were modelled for within-person daily solitude. To address our main research questions, we first fitted a main effects model, including all covariates (Model 1). Next, we examined our moderation hypotheses by testing the interactions of educational attainment, control beliefs, and future time perspective with daily solitude predicting daily positive affect and sense of purpose (Model 2). We also included all interactions of covariates with within-person solitude. To arrive at our final model, non-significant interactions were progressively excluded from the models (from highest to lowest order terms; as per Bolger & Laurenceau, 2013 ; Zambrano Garza, et al., 2024). Results Bivariate correlations between time spent alone, positive affect, and sense of purpose at Day 1, educational attainment, control beliefs, future time perspective, and the covariates are included in Table 1 . As might be expected, spending more time alone was associated with not being in a relationship, and living alone. Results of the analyses used to examine associations of solitude with positive affect are shown in Table 2 . The main effects model (Model 1) revealed a significant negative association of within-person daily solitude with positive affect, indicating that on days when participants spent greater time alone than was typical for them, positive affect tended to be lower. Between-person differences in solitude were not associated with positive affect. Older adults with a more open-ended future time perspective and lower perceived constraints reported higher positive affect compared to those with a more restricted future time perspective and higher perceived constraints. Perceived mastery was not associated with positive affect. Among the covariates, older age was associated with lower positive affect. No other covariates were significant predictors of positive affect. Table 2 Multilevel Models Examining Positive Affect as a Function of Daily Solitude, Future Time Perspective, Control Beliefs, and Educational Attainment Variable Model 1 Model 2 Est. SE p 95% CI Est. SE p 95% CI Main Effects Day 0.00 0.00 0.31 -0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.31 -0.01 0.00 Age 0.02 0.01 0.04 0.00 0.04 0.02 0.01 0.04 0.00 0.04 Physical Functioning 0.00 0.00 0.07 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.07 0.00 0.01 Lives Alone -0.08 0.11 0.47 -0.31 0.14 -0.08 0.11 0.47 -0.31 0.14 Gender (female) 0.04 0.08 0.65 -0.12 0.19 0.04 0.08 0.65 -0.12 0.19 Employment (not employed) -0.01 0.08 0.85 -0.17 0.14 -0.01 0.08 0.85 -0.17 0.14 Partnered 0.06 0.10 0.53 -0.13 0.25 0.06 0.10 0.53 -0.13 0.25 Not White -0.22 0.18 0.21 -0.57 0.12 -0.22 0.18 0.21 -0.57 0.12 Educational Attainment -0.03 0.02 0.11 -0.06 0.01 -0.03 0.02 0.11 -0.06 0.01 Future Time Perspective 0.19 0.04 0.00 0.12 0.26 0.19 0.04 0.00 0.12 0.26 Constraints -0.02 0.01 0.00 -0.03 -0.01 -0.02 0.01 0.00 -0.03 -0.01 Mastery 0.00 0.01 0.71 -0.02 0.02 0.00 0.01 0.71 -0.02 0.02 Between-Person Solitude 0.00 0.01 0.93 -0.01 0.01 0.00 0.01 0.93 -0.01 0.01 Within-Person Solitude -0.02 0.01 0.01 -0.03 0.00 -0.02 0.01 0.01 -0.03 0.00 Interaction Daily Solitude (WP) x Educational Attainment -0.01 0.00 0.01 -0.01 0.00 Intercept 2.37 0.12 0.00 2.14 2.60 Random Effects Slope (WP time alone) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Intercept 0.23 0.03 0.18 0.29 0.23 0.03 0.18 0.29 Intercept-slope cov. (WP time alone) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 Residual 0.21 0.01 0.19 0.21 0.01 0.19 0.22 Pseudo R 2 BP 0.44 0.44 WP 0.32 0.32 Notes. N = 189. M = 7.68 daily assessments per person. Est. = Unstandardized estimate; SE = Standard error; CI = Confidence interval; Constraints = Control beliefs constraints; Mastery = Control beliefs mastery; Cov. = Covariance. p < .05. Cross-product terms were added to test hypothesised moderation (Table 1 , Model 2). Specifically, we predicted that the negative associations of daily solitude with daily positive affect would be weaker for those with higher educational attainment, higher sense of control, and a more open-ended future time perspective. Contrary to our expectations, we found a significant negative interaction of educational attainment on positive affect, indicating that as average time alone increased, older adults with more education experienced lower positive affect in solitude than those with less education. Figure 1 shows model implied predicted values for positive affect across values of within-person daily solitude at higher (1 standard deviation above the mean) and lower (1 standard deviation below the mean) levels of educational attainment. We did not find evidence that future time perspective or control beliefs (i.e., higher mastery and lower constraints) moderated the relationship between daily solitude and daily positive affect, suggesting more open-ended future time perspective and higher control beliefs may not buffer against negative wellbeing consequences as older adult’s average daily time alone increases. We also found no interaction effects for our covariates on within-person solitude and positive affect. Results of the analysis used to test associations of solitude with daily sense of purpose are shown in Table 3 . Both within-person and between-person daily solitude were negatively associated with sense of purpose, indicating that participants who typically spend relatively more time in solitude reported lower sense of purpose, and on days when participants spent greater time alone than is typical for them, their sense of purpose tended to be lower. Both future time perspective and perceived constraints were significant predictorsࣧthose with a more open-ended future time perspective and those who perceived lower constraints experienced greater overall sense of purpose. None of our covariates were significantly associated with sense of purpose. We found no evidence for educational attainment, control beliefs, or future time perspective moderating the relationship between daily solitude and sense of purpose. We also found no interaction effects for any of our covariates on within-person solitude and sense of purpose. Table 3 Multilevel Models Examining Sense of Purpose as a Function of Daily Solitude, Future Time Perspective, Control Beliefs, and Educational Attainment Variable Model 1 Est. SE p 95% CI Main Effects Day 0.00 0.01 0.96 -0.03 0.03 Age 0.03 0.04 0.36 -0.04 0.11 Physical Functioning 0.00 0.01 0.68 -0.01 0.02 Lives Alone -0.28 0.43 0.51 -1.12 0.56 Gender (female) 0.28 0.30 0.34 -0.30 0.86 Employed 0.40 0.30 0.18 -0.18 0.99 Partnered -0.49 0.36 0.17 -1.19 0.21 Ethnicity (Not White) -0.22 0.66 0.73 -1.52 1.07 Educational Attainment -0.12 0.06 0.06 -0.24 0.01 Future Time Perspective 0.76 0.13 0.00 0.50 1.02 Constraints -0.07 0.02 0.00 -0.10 -0.03 Mastery 0.02 0.04 0.63 -0.06 0.09 Between-person Solitude -0.06 0.03 0.03 -0.11 -0.01 Within-Person Solitude -0.07 0.02 0.00 -0.12 -0.03 Intercept 10.63 0.44 0.00 9.77 11.49 Random Effects Slope (WP time alone) 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.04 Intercept 3.38 0.38 2.17 4.20 Intercept-slope cov. (WP time alone) 0.08 0.04 -0.01 0.16 Residual 2.45 0.09 2.27 2.64 Pseudo R 2 BP 0.46 WP 0.35 Notes. N = 189. M = 7.68 daily assessments per person. Est. = Unstandardized estimate; SE = Standard error; CI = Confidence interval; Constraints = Control beliefs constraints; Mastery = Control beliefs mastery; Cov. = Covariance. p < .05. In a final series of analyses (see supplementary material) that were not pre-registered, we explored whether associations between time alone and wellbeing varied as a function of the quality of people’s typical social exchanges as discussed in Huxhold et al. ( 2022 ). Specifically, we examined both positive and negative social exchanges assessed using the PANSE (see Method) as potential moderators of negative within-person solitude and positive affect and sense of purpose associations. We found main effects whereby higher negative social exchanges were associated with lower positive affect and sense of purpose, and higher positive social exchanges were associated with higher positive affect and sense of purpose. However, neither positive nor negative social exchanges moderated associations of daily solitude with positive affect or sense of purpose. Discussion This study examined whether time spent alone in the daily lives of older adults was associated with lower levels of positive affect and sense of purpose, and whether these associations were buffered by theoretically relevant aspects of personality (control beliefs), motivation (future time perspective) and socio-economic status (education). Our findings provided mixed support for our hypotheses. Main effects were generally consistent with our expectations regarding the assessment of positive solitude using a ‘slopes-as-outcomes’ approach. Specifically, our results revealed that spending more daily time in solitude than is typical compared to one’s average corresponded with both lower positive affect and lower sense of purpose. At the same time, substantial interindividual differences in these associations (as indicated by the significant random slopes for within-person solitude) suggested that people vary in the extent to which spending time alone related to the quality of positive affective experience and sense of purpose. Contrary to predictions, we did not find evidence that a more open-ended future time perspective or greater sense of control was associated with greater positive solitude (operationalized using the within-person solitude slopes for positive affect and sense of purpose). Furthermore, we found the negative within-person solitude and positive affect association to be weaker for those with lower educational attainment, compared to higher educational attainment (we had predicted the opposite). Solitude in Older Adults’ Day-to-Day Lives Older adults spend a significant amount of time alone, and our findings broadly align with research linking greater time alone in older age with negative health and psychological outcomes (e.g., loneliness and depression; Hawkley & Cacioppo, 2010 ). According to Carstensen’s ( 1992 ) Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST), older adults are generally driven to seek positive affective experiences in the present, often through meaningful and purposeful connection and activities with close ties, which might explain our findings that sense of purpose and positive affect decline when older adults spend more time alone than average. Here, we extended current solitude research in older age by operationalising positive solitude using a slope-as-outcomes approach to indirectly capture the extent to which solitude was experienced positively or negatively. Measuring positive solitude indirectly in daily life contexts may provide higher ecological validity and reduce self-presentational biases compared to studies that used direct self-reports of positive solitude (e.g., “were you bothered by your solitude”, “when I find time for myself, I feel focused and able to achieve my best results”; Zambrano Garza et al., 2024; Palgi et al., 2021 ). Of central interest was whether positive solitude (operationalized as a less-negative within-person covariation between daily solitude and wellbeing) would be more evident among participants with a more open-ended future time perspective and higher control beliefs (i.e., higher perceived mastery and lower perceived constraints). Against expectations, neither future time perspective nor control beliefs were found to moderate associations of within-person daily solitude with positive affect or sense of purpose. Although speculative, it may be that older adult’s beliefs about their abilities, obstacles, and future time left to live play less of a role in determining the affective and purpose-related sequalae of time spent alone than physical and environmental contextual factors (Infurna & Okun, 2015 ). For example, the Contextual Dynamics of Aging Model (CODA; Wahl & Gerstorf, 2018 ) highlights the importance of diverse and dynamic contextual factors (e.g., economic, social, physical environment, care services, technology, relational processes) in shaping health and wellbeing outcomes for older adults, and suggests potential pathways (i.e., context-person-agency, context-person-belonging, and context-person-stress) through which such contextual factors could influence health and wellbeing. To illustrate, having pleasant and accessible, natural spaces in one’s proximal physical environment could lead to older adults choosing to access these spaces for solitude (context-person-agency), which in turn may lead to feelings of appreciation and attachment for their neighborhood and the landscape (context-person-belonging) that facilitate positive psychological wellbeing independently of personality or motivational factors. In line with the CODA model, a recent review by Chen and Liu ( 2023 ) highlighted the importance of interpersonal differences (e.g., demographic and social) on wellbeing in solitude in older age. They found only a few studies had examined the role of social contextual factors (e.g., diversity in social networks, living alone versus living with others, participation in community activities) on solitude and positive solitude experiences. Although we examined several key contextual variables among the covariates and in exploratory analyses, future studies may benefit from more comprehensively examining the role of social contextual factors on the experience of daily solitude (e.g., social network diversity; Chen & Liu, 2023 ; Huxhold et al., 2022 ). It is also possible that relatively stable individual difference factors, such as aspects of personality or one’s capacity or preference for positive solitude, could play a greater role in solitude experiences than motivational, goal-oriented psychological processes (i.e., future time perspective, control beliefs). For example, Palgi et al. ( 2021 ) recently developed a nine-item measure of positive solitude based on the theoretical idea that positive solitude is a generally stable stand-alone individual ability; that may include a state-like skill that can change or improve across time. To our knowledge, Palgi et al.’s ( 2021 ) positive solitude construct has not been examined as a potential moderator of daily solitude and wellbeing in older age. Additionally, certain personality trait characteristics could influence the likelihood of experiencing solitude positively (Lay et al., 2019 ). For example, introverts are thought to gain energy from spending time alone, and introversion has been associated with a higher preference for solitude, spending more time in solitude, and having a greater appreciation for solitude than extroversion (Burger, 1995 ; Zelenski et al., 2014). In contrast, Leary et al. ( 2003 ) found that undergraduate students higher in characteristics of extraversion (e.g., enjoyment being with others and enjoyment talking to people) were less likely to experience enjoyment from solitude activities than those lower in extraversion. At the same time, Srivastava et al. ( 2008 ) examined adults’ (18–55 years) day-to-day experiences of positive affect and found that both extroverts and introverts had higher positive affect when interacting with others than when they did not interact with others. Future solitude research could examine stable intrapersonal differences (e.g., introversion and extroversion, and positive solitude as an individual ability) on wellbeing in daily solitude among older adults Finally, we expected more highly educated older adults would have higher cognitive reserve and greater cognitive resources (e.g., greater ability on neuropsychological tasks; Leon et al., 2014 ) that would facilitate engagement in intellectually engaging solitary activities (e.g., Nucci et al., 2012 ; Opdebeeck et al., 2016 ), which in turn would facilitate positive solitude. However, our results showed older adults with more educational attainment experienced lower positive affect when spending more time alone than average compared to those with less educational attainment. Research has linked higher educational attainment and higher cognitive reserve with greater social engagement and larger and more diverse social networks in older age (Barrett et al., 2011 ; Martinčević & Vranić, 2023 ; Van Groenou & Van Tilburg, 2003 ; Windsor et al., 2016 ). Therefore, it is possible that more educated older adults experienced lower positive affect when their average time alone increased because of a greater relative investment in goals involving valued social connections (Martinčević, & Vranić, 2023 ), rather than solitary activities. Solitude and Wellbeing in Older Age Our results showed that participants who spent more time in solitude overall reported lower sense of purpose than those who spent less overall time alone. Having a higher sense of purpose has been found to robustly predict positive outcomes in older age such as happiness and greater life satisfaction, better physical health, including engaging in health behaviours and greater longevity, and better social outcomes, such as more positive social interactions (Pfund, 2023 ; Windsor et al., 2015 ). Our findings suggest that social partners have a key role to play in the maintenance of sense of purpose in daily life. Participants who reported higher overall solitude did not differ in positive affect relative to those who reported lower overall time in solitude. This finding highlights the importance of disaggregating between- and within-person associations, as taken together the results suggest that spending more time alone than is typical is associated with a dip in positive aspects of wellbeing, whereas older participants’ overall experiences of solitude were not associated with wellbeing. We speculate that the absence of a between-person association in our data could reflect the successful operation of processes of self- and emotion-regulation, whereby older adults adapt to changing life circumstances through the effective management of goals (Wrosch et al., 2006 ) and emotional experience (Allen & Windsor, 2017; Urry & Gross, 2010 ) across changing life contexts. The results are also likely to reflect older adults’ exercising of agency in shaping their social worlds, in which general levels of social connection are established through resource investment (determined by capacities and moderated by motivation; Huxhold et al., 2023) in ways that align with emotional needs. Strengths, Limitations and Future Directions A strength of our approach was the focus on maximizing ecological validity and reducing self-presentational biases by using an indirect method to estimate experiences of positive solitude. Despite this novel element, our results should be considered with several limitations in mind. First, our sample was not broadly representative of older adults, as most participants were White, in good health (ten Klooster et al., 2013 ; Wilton-Harding, & Windsor, 2022 ), highly educated, female, and did not represent the oldest old (i.e., ages 85 and above). Second, our use of repeated assessment daily diary methodology to examine older adult’s day-to-day allowed us to capture daily solitude experiences with low participant burden (Vachon et al., 2019 ), which resulted in high participant compliance; however, research has shown that affect, the nature of experiences, and how they are processed may differ across time frames (e.g., moment-to-moment; Garza et al., 2023). It is possible that our daily diary method may not have been fine-grained enough to capture the complexity of older adult’s momentary positive experiences of solitude (Chui et al., 2022). Future research might benefit from using time-sampling methodology with a shorter sampling frame (e.g., 3 daily questionnaires over the 10-day sampling period; as per Lay et al., 2019 ; Pauly et al., 2017 ), or event-based time sampling to more directly examine correlates of momentary solitude (Zambrano Garza et al., 2024). Although wellbeing declined when people’s daily average time alone increased, it is also conceivable that decreases in wellbeing might contribute to people seeking solitude (Pauly et al., 2018 ). Future research should examine the causal mechanisms underlying these influences by testing them experimentally (e.g., the role of solitude in producing positive affect by manipulating the types of activities done in solitude; Jiang et al., 2019 ). Conclusion The current study contributed to new knowledge regarding intraindividual and interindividual later life solitude experiences. Our findings that older adults experience poorer wellbeing in terms of lower positive affect and sense of purpose when their daily solitude is higher than usual highlights the importance of supportive social contexts for maintaining optimal daily wellbeing in later life. We found significant interindividual variability in the extent to which within-person solitude was associated with wellbeing, supporting the notion that solitude is experienced relatively more or less positively by different people (Weinstein et al., 2023). Older adults with more education were found to experience lower positive affect in solitude than those with less education, highlighting the role of educational attainment as a potential moderator between solitude and wellbeing. Future research may benefit from assessing a broader range of contextual, capacity-related, and personality factors, including using self-reported trait-based assessments of positive solitude (Palgi et al., 2021 ) to better understand daily life dynamics of solitude and wellbeing. Declarations Declarations: Author 1 is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Data will be made available upon request to the corresponding author. The study was approved by the Flinders University Human Research Ethics Committee. Author Contribution L.R. contributed to conceptualisation, wrote the manuscript text and prepared tables and figures. T.W. conceptualised the study, led analysis of data and contributed to drafting the manuscript. LR, B. W-H, K.F. and A.R. contributed to study design, reviewed and revised the manuscript including manuscript text, tables, and figures. 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1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":20773,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEducational attainment as a moderator of associations between daily solitude and positive affect\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNote\u003c/em\u003e. Predictive margins with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). CI = confidence interval\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7634316/v1/8a7130da1066b87f15633e03.png"},{"id":95230149,"identity":"6eb4c7b3-f13e-4967-894a-d76d2c1d3206","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:36:54","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1198799,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7634316/v1/0fa3b9d5-8cfa-4582-a0b2-f9ac7f6d51dd.pdf"},{"id":95064870,"identity":"2d9fc3d8-5b0e-4df5-9c4f-35ce10269764","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-04 01:23:44","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":28483,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryTables.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7634316/v1/e363211890ed55ba78003655.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Solo and Satisfied? Investigating Daily Solitude Experiences in Older Age","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eOlder adults spend significantly more time alone than younger or middle-aged adults\u0026mdash;approximately half of their day on average, increasing up to 71% in the oldest old (aged 85+; Chen \u0026amp; Liu, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Hoppmann et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Research suggests that some people are more likely to experience solitude positively than others (e.g., Pauly et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). However, research examining everyday experiences of solitude in older age, and in particular the phenomenon of \u003cem\u003epositive solitude\u003c/em\u003e, is scarce. In the present study, we expanded on emerging research concerning solitude and wellbeing in two ways. First, we used a dynamic micro-longitudinal design to objectively assess positive solitude based on within-person associations of daily solitude with positive affect and sense of purpose), occurring from day-to-day in a sample of older adults who completed daily diary assessments over 10 days. Second, we examined theoretically relevant individual difference factors that could influence the extent to which experiencing periods of greater solitude was associated with lower levels of wellbeing on a day-to-day basis, focusing specifically on the extent to which \u003cem\u003efuture time perspective\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003econtrol beliefs\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eeducational attainment\u003c/em\u003e moderated associations between time spent alone and positive affect and sense of purpose.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Solitude and Wellbeing: Empirical Evidence","content":"\u003cp\u003eEmpirical findings on the relationship between solitude and wellbeing indicate that spending time alone can have both deleterious and rejuvenating effects on wellbeing. For example, a micro-longitudinal study found that on days when people spent more time alone than usual, they had lower levels of affective wellbeing (Chui et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). However, the sample (\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e = 74) was restricted to oldest-old adults, limiting generalizability. Similarly, Lam and García-Román (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) found that older adults reported lower life satisfaction and less happiness when they spent large amounts of their day in solitude, compared to when they spent time with others. Some research, however, points to positive aspects of solitude. Time in solitude has been linked to positive affect in older age and better regulating of emotions (Nguyen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Toyoshima \u0026amp; Sato, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR63\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e), cognitive and metacognitive processes such as greater concentration, alertness, higher self-acceptance (Manalastas, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e) and greater introspection (i.e., the ability to reflect on and experience one’s own thoughts, feelings, behaviours, attitudes, and beliefs; Thomas, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR62\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e), and physiological indicators of lower arousal/stress (e.g., reduced heart rate and muscle tension, lower blood pressure, decrease in salivary cortisol, regulating of immune system activity; Matarese \u0026amp; Salmon, 2013; Ost-Mor et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTaken together, the literature points to the potential for solitude to either undermine or support aspects of wellbeing. However, the research tradition related to positive solitude is relatively new, and many studies have focused on younger adults (e.g., Wang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Zhou et al., 2023). Furthermore, the role of individual difference factors that could lead to variation in how people experience solitude remains underexplored. Our focus in the present study, therefore, was on examining whether associations of solitude with aspects of daily wellbeing varied as a function of individual difference factors with relevance to self-regulation (e.g., Lachman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e) and social motivation (e.g., Huxhold et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Lang \u0026amp; Carstensen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e) in later life.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Theoretical Framework","content":"\u003cp\u003eCurrently, there are no established theoretical models that explicitly identify the array of factors that could influence the nature of solitude experiences over the lifespan. In the absence of such models, we drew on a recent lifespan perspective on social relations the Differential Investment of Resources Model (DIRe; Huxhold et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) to inform our conceptual approach. Although the DIRe model focuses predominantly on factors that shape investment of time and energy into social ties, the model also identifies how social relationships impact wellbeing through social functions. Most relevant to the question of solitude is the specific function of \u003cem\u003esocial exchanges\u003c/em\u003e social interactions experienced in daily life that can have both positive impacts on wellbeing, such as stimulating positive affect (e.g., Ingersoll-Dayton et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e) or encouraging meaningful interaction (Carstensen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1992\u003c/span\u003e), and negative impacts, such as exposure to tensions, disagreements, or other interpersonal stressors (Birditt et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Cohen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e). Given that solitude represents an absence of social exchanges, people who generally experience warm, supportive exchanges may suffer from their absence, whereas those more accustomed to problematic or energy-depleting relationships may experience relief from solitude.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA second factor likely to determine the quality of solitude experiences concerns how people use time to themselves. Once again drawing on the DIRe perspective, which highlights how individual difference characteristics (capacities, motivations, and skills) drive investment into social relationships, we focused on how key aspects of motivation relate to solitude experiences (Huxhold et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Here, we focused on two theoretically relevant variables that have received considerable research attention in the context of lifespan differences in social relationships, wellbeing, and self-regulation; namely, future time perspective and control beliefs. Finally, the DIRe model also considers the role of social-contextual factors in shaping social behaviour. We considered education as one such factor relevant to the present analysis.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFuture Time Perspective\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExisting research and theory suggest that individual differences in perceptions of time left to live could explain heterogeneity in later life solitude experiences. According to Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (Carstensen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1992\u003c/span\u003e), future time perspective influences priorities, activities, and preferences across the lifespan. The sense that time is running out is thought to become more salient in older age, shifting goal hierarchies towards maximizing emotionally meaningful experiences, intimacy, and connection with close social ties in the present, and away from future-oriented goals, such as knowledge acquisition and achievement goals (Froehlich et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Kooji et al., 2018). Because connecting with loved ones may be particularly important for those with a more restricted future time perspective, time spent alone may represent a more goal-incongruent state that in turn is associated with reduced state wellbeing. On the other hand, older adults with a more open-ended future time perspective may use solitude as an opportunity to engage in future-oriented activities and goals (e.g., developing new skills) that better sustain wellbeing in solitude.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eControl Beliefs\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSubstantial research evidence indicates that people with a greater sense of control over their lives have greater resources that sustain wellbeing (e.g., Lachman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e; Skinner, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1996\u003c/span\u003e). Our contention is that resources for adaptation, such as flexible self-regulatory skills and cognitive ability, might make those with a stronger sense of control better equipped to get the most out of solitude, compared with those who see their lives as more subject to the influence of external factors. Higher control beliefs (i.e., higher perceived mastery and lower perceived constraints) are thought to promote interest, optimism, sustained attention, problem-solving, and an action orientation (Skinner, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1996\u003c/span\u003e), which in turn may promote motivation and aid thoughts and behaviours (e.g., action, putting in effort, and persistence) that facilitate positive solitude (Skinner, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1996\u003c/span\u003e; Skinner \u0026amp; Zimmer-Gembeck, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e). Despite evidence suggesting higher control beliefs may be a protective factor for coping and wellbeing over time, to our knowledge, no research has examined the role of control beliefs as a possible determinant of individual differences in positive solitude (Jopp \u0026amp; Schmitt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e; Lachman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eEducational Attainment\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn line with several key lifespan theories (e.g., Huxhold et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e), we acknowledge contextual factors likely have a role in experiences of solitude in later life. Specifically, we were interested in whether \u003cem\u003eeducational attainment\u003c/em\u003eas a key socioeconomic indicator could influence the relationship between solitude experiences and wellbeing. Greater early life education may provide advantages in older age (e.g., more flexible and efficient neural networks, and better performance on neuropsychological tasks; Leon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e), which in turn could increase engagement in activities thought to facilitate positive solitude. Indeed, extensive studies measuring cognitive reserve in older adults have shown positive associations with educational attainment and engagement in leisure activities (many of which can be done alone) that could promote positive solitude (e.g., reading newspapers or books, listening to music, gardening, handicraft, artistic activities such as painting or playing an instrument; Nucci et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Opdebeeck et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Current Study\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe expanded on previous solitude research by using an ecologically valid micro-longitudinal design to examine within- and between-person variance in daily solitude, and how they relate to positive affect and sense of purpose in the lives of older adults. Consistent with previous research (e.g., Chui et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e), we expected that, on average, on days when older adults spent more time alone than is average for them, there would be corresponding decreases in sense of purpose and positive affect. At the same time, we expected there would be interindividual variation in these associations, with some individuals likely to show no association (or even a positive association) of solitude with wellbeing outcomes, which we considered to be indicative of greater capacity for positive solitude.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy taking a slopes-as-outcome approach (Humberg et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e), we examined whether between-person differences in control beliefs and future time perspective were associated with positive solitude, operationalised as the within-person covariation of daily solitude with positive affect and sense of purpose. We also examined whether educational attainment moderated the relationship between time spent in solitude and wellbeing. We hypothesised that:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003col\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eControl beliefs would moderate the negative within-person association between daily solitude and wellbeing. Specifically, for those with higher control beliefs, we expected that greater time spent in solitude would show weaker negative associations with positive affect and sense of purpose, compared to those with lower control beliefs.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eFuture time perspective would moderate the negative within-person association between daily solitude and wellbeing. Specifically, for those with more open-ended future time perspective, we expected greater time spent in solitude would show weaker negative associations with positive affect and sense of purpose, compared to those with more limited future time perspective.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eEducational attainment would moderate the negative within-person association between daily solitude and wellbeing. Specifically, for those with higher levels of educational attainment we expected that greater time spent in solitude would show weaker negative associations with positive affect and sense of purpose, compared to those with lower levels of educational attainment.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo account for additional interindividual factors likely to influence experiences of solitude in later life, we examined our key associations of interest while controlling for relevant demographics (gender, age, ethnicity), contextual factors (relationship status, co-resident status) and physical functioning.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Method","content":"\u003ch2\u003eParticipants\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eData in the current study were collected from a larger survey on the daily social lives of older adults developed in collaboration between Flinders University and Adelphi University. The study was approved by the Flinders University Human Research Ethics Committee. Participants aged over 65 years, residing in the US, and fluent in English were invited to respond to 10 daily (10-minute) online surveys, as well as a 15–20-minute baseline and end-of study survey. Data coverage over the 10-day study period was good, with 79% of participants completing questionnaires on all 10 days. Simulation data reported by Arend and Schäfer (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) indicated that a sample size of 150 was required to detect a significant cross-level interaction of medium effect size (0.33) with 80% power, in a two-level multilevel model with 10 repeated assessments, assuming a medium slope variance for the Level 1 predictor. In the present study, 223 adults aged 64–86 years were initially recruited. After excluding participants with missing data on Level 2 (between-person) predictors, our final analytical sample consisted of N = 189 (\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003eage\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e = 69.79, \u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e = 3.78). Demographic information is shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c12\" colnum=\"12\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c13\" colnum=\"13\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c14\" colnum=\"14\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c15\" colnum=\"15\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDemographic Characteristics and Bivariate Correlations of Central Study Variables and Control Variables\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"15\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e(SD), %\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1. Time Alone\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e9.21 (8.32)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2. Age\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e69.94 (3.78)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3. Physical Functioning\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e69.52 (27.06)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.17\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.05\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4. Lives Alone\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e40.74\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.64\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5. Gender (female)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e59.79\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.16\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.08\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.18\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e6. Employed\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e33.33\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e7. Partnered\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e71.43\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.33\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.11\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.45\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.16\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e8. Not White\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.76\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.05\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e9. Education\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e15.27 (2.33)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.23\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.14\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10. FTP\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.39 (1.31)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.31\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.08\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11. Constraints\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e22.47 (11.14)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.42\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.52\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e12. Mastery\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e21.58 (5.16)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.07\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.27\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.05\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.07\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.49\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.68\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e13. Positive Affect\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.30 (0.81)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.16\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.33\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.09\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.10\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.49\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.57\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e14. Sense of Purpose\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10.38 (3.15)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.28\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.24\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.18\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.51\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.43\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.70\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"15\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eNotes\u003c/em\u003e. Baseline \u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e = 189. Correlations reflect cross-sectional between-person associations. FTP = Future time perspective; Constraints = Control beliefs constraints; Mastery = Control beliefs mastery. \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .05.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProcedure\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing approval by the Institutional Research Ethics Committee (HEG7410-4), the study was pre-registered with the Open Science Framework (\u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://osf.io/9zuh3\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"https://osf.io/9zuh3\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e), and an advertisement was placed on Connect, CloudResearch\u0026rsquo;s online participant crowdsourcing platform (Litman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). On either a computer or mobile device (e.g., smartphone or iPad), eligible participants were invited to take part in the study in August 2024. Participants were informed that participation was voluntary and that they could withdraw consent at any time. Following providing consent to be involved, participants were directed to a baseline survey with questions focused on social, wellbeing, and demographic variables. At the end of the baseline survey, participants were reminded of the dates for the diary component and encouraged to switch on their Connect notifications (email and/or SMS). A 10-day (once daily in the evening) survey period began the following week. Each evening, Connect notified participants when the survey became available. Participants who had not started the survey within an hour of it being available also received a second reminder. In the daily surveys, participants answered questions on their daily experiences, including their affective experiences and social context (as per Reis \u0026amp; Gable, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e). At the end of the survey period, participants were asked to complete an end-of-survey questionnaire that included social and wellbeing items.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMeasures\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eDaily Solitude\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eDaily solitude was measured by the number of hours spent alone since the same time the day prior. Based on similar items used in other solitude studies (e.g., Weinstein et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR70\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023b\u003c/span\u003e; Zambrano Gaza et al., 2024), participants responded either \u0026lsquo;yes\u0026rsquo; or \u0026lsquo;no\u0026rsquo; as to whether they spent any time on their own since the day prior (i.e., \u0026ldquo;did you spend any time on your own since this time yesterday?\u0026rdquo;). If participants respond \u0026ldquo;yes\u0026rdquo; to the first response they proceeded to answering the question, \u0026ldquo;approximately how many hours did you spend on your own since this time yesterday?\u0026rdquo;.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePositive Affect\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ePositive affect was measured using four adjectives (happy, relaxed, interested, active) drawn from recent research (H\u0026uuml;l\u0026uuml;r et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; \u0026#120572; = 0.78). On a 5-point scale (0\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003eno experience of the particular affect\u003c/em\u003e, to 4\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003every intense experience of the particular affect\u003c/em\u003e), participants indicated the extent to which they felt each positive affect adjective since the same time the previous day. Positive affect was measured as the average response to the four items. Generalizability Theory framework (Cranford et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e) was used to calculate between- and within-person reliability estimates. Between-person reliability was high (\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003eKF\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e = 0.87), and within-person reliability was moderate (\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003eC\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e = 0.72).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eDaily Sense of Purpose\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eDaily sense of purpose was measured on a 7-point scale (1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003enot at all\u003c/em\u003e, 7\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003every much\u003c/em\u003e) using two items from previous diary studies (i.e., \u0026ldquo;how much did you feel your life had purpose today\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;how meaningful did you feel your life was today\u0026rdquo;; Kashdan \u0026amp; Nezlek, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Newman et al., 2017). Sense of purpose was measured as the average response to both items. Between-person (\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003eKF\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e = 0.99), and within-person (\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003eC\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e = 0.91) reliabilities were high.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eEducational Attainment\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eParticipants answered the question \u0026ldquo;what is the highest degree or certification you have earned\u0026rdquo; (i.e., none; high school diploma/equivalency; Associate's [2-year college] degree or post-high school vocational certificate; Bachelor's [4-year college] degree; Master's degree/MBA; Law or MD; PhD; Other [specify]: ______; Prefer not to answer). Categories were converted into an estimated number of years of education ranging from 12 to 20 years. Specifically, none; high school diploma/equivalency\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;12 years; Associate's [2-year college] or post-HS vocational certificate\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;14 years; Bachelor's [4-year college] degree\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;16 years; Master's degree/MBA; Law or MD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;18 years; PhD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;20 years.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eControl Beliefs\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eParticipants\u0026rsquo; sense of control (i.e., control beliefs) were measured using 4 items of \u0026lsquo;personal mastery\u0026rsquo; (e.g., \u0026ldquo;when I really want to do something, I usually find a way to succeed at it\u0026rdquo;), and 8 items of \u0026lsquo;perceived constraints\u0026rsquo; (e.g., \u0026ldquo;I often feel helpless in dealing with the problems of life\u0026rdquo;), taken from previous studies measuring control beliefs (e.g., Brim et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1996\u003c/span\u003e). In the current study, internal consistency was \u0026#120572; = 0.89 and 0.92 for the personal mastery and perceived constraints subscales, respectively. Responses were measured on a 7-point scale (1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003estrongly agree\u003c/em\u003e, 7\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003estrongly disagree\u003c/em\u003e). Perceived mastery items were reverse-scored; higher scores of the combined 12 items represent higher control beliefs.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFuture Time Perspective\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFuture time perspective was measured using Lang and Carstensen\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e) 10-item scale. Items describe future expectations of opportunities and limitations (e.g., \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;I expect that I will set many new goals in the future\u003c/em\u003e). Participants rated their agreement to each statement on a 6-point scale from 1 (\u003cem\u003every untrue\u003c/em\u003e) to 6 (\u003cem\u003every true\u003c/em\u003e). Three negatively worded items were reverse scored; higher scores represent more open-ended future time perspective (Pfund et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; \u0026#120572; = 0.90). In the current study, the internal consistency for future time perspective was \u0026#120572; = 0.93.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePositive and Negative Social Exchanges\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ePositive and negative social exchanges were measured using the 24-item Positive and Negative Social Exchanges scale (PANSE; Newsom et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e). This scale assesses 12 items of positive social exchanges in four domains (i.e., informational support, instrumental support, emotional support, companionship) and 12 items of negative social exchanges (i.e., unwanted advice or intrusion, failure to provide help, unsympathetic or insensitive behaviour, and rejection or neglect). On a scale from 0 (\u003cem\u003enever\u003c/em\u003e) to 4 (\u003cem\u003every often\u003c/em\u003e), participants answered questions about the frequency of exchanges over the past month with their \u0026ldquo;spouse or partner, family members, friends, neighbours, in-laws, or others\u0026rdquo; (e.g., \u0026ldquo;In the past month how often did people you know\u0026hellip; include you in the things they were doing\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;In the past month how often did people you know\u0026hellip;. let you down when you needed help\u0026rdquo;; Jiang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Newsom et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e). Total scores for each subscale range from 0 to 48, with higher scores indicating greater frequency of social exchanges. In the current study, internal consistency was \u0026#120572; = 0.94 for positive exchanges and \u0026#120572; = 0.89 for negative exchanges.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSociodemographic Characteristics\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eContextual factors that may contribute to positive solitude were included as covariates in the analyses. Participants reported: age as a continuous scale, gender (coded 0\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003emale\u003c/em\u003e, 1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003efemale\u003c/em\u003e), how many people they live with (coded 0\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003elives with others\u003c/em\u003e, 1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003elives alone\u003c/em\u003e), relationship status (coded 0\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003enot partnered\u003c/em\u003e, 1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003epartnered\u003c/em\u003e), employment status (coded 0\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003enot employed\u003c/em\u003e, 1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003eemployed\u003c/em\u003e ), and ethnicity (coded 0\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003eWhite\u003c/em\u003e, 1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003eother\u003c/em\u003e). Physical functioning was assessed using the RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0, 10-item \u003cem\u003ePhysical Functioning\u003c/em\u003e subscale (Hays et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e; range 0\u0026ndash;100, with 100 representing optimum physical functioning).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec20\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStatistical Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo examine inter- and intra-individual variation in positive affect and sense of purpose, we used multilevel modelling with maximum-likelihood estimation to distinguish between-person (Level 1) and within-person (repeated assessments at Level 1) effects. To disaggregate time-varying predictor variables, between-person scores were calculated using a person\u0026rsquo;s average score across all assessments (person-mean), centered on the sample mean (Hoppman \u0026amp; Stawski, 2019). Within-person scores were calculated using day specific deviations from the person-means. Time invariant continuous predictors (age, education physical functioning, future time perspective, control beliefs, positive and negative social exchanges) were centered on the sample mean. We used Snijders and Bosker\u0026rsquo;s (1994) method to calculate Pseudo-\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e. Null random-intercept models were used to calculate intraclass correlations, which showed within-person variance of 34% for positive affect, and 28% for sense of purpose respectively. Random slopes were modelled for within-person daily solitude.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo address our main research questions, we first fitted a main effects model, including all covariates (Model 1). Next, we examined our moderation hypotheses by testing the interactions of educational attainment, control beliefs, and future time perspective with daily solitude predicting daily positive affect and sense of purpose (Model 2). We also included all interactions of covariates with within-person solitude. To arrive at our final model, non-significant interactions were progressively excluded from the models (from highest to lowest order terms; as per Bolger \u0026amp; Laurenceau, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Zambrano Garza, et al., 2024).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eBivariate correlations between time spent alone, positive affect, and sense of purpose at Day 1, educational attainment, control beliefs, future time perspective, and the covariates are included in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. As might be expected, spending more time alone was associated with not being in a relationship, and living alone.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eResults of the analyses used to examine associations of solitude with positive affect are shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. The main effects model (Model 1) revealed a significant negative association of within-person daily solitude with positive affect, indicating that on days when participants spent greater time alone than was typical for them, positive affect tended to be lower. Between-person differences in solitude were not associated with positive affect. Older adults with a more open-ended future time perspective and lower perceived constraints reported higher positive affect compared to those with a more restricted future time perspective and higher perceived constraints. Perceived mastery was not associated with positive affect. Among the covariates, older age was associated with lower positive affect. No other covariates were significant predictors of positive affect.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMultilevel Models Examining Positive Affect as a Function of Daily Solitude, Future Time Perspective, Control Beliefs, and Educational Attainment\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"18\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c12\" colnum=\"12\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c13\" colnum=\"13\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c14\" colnum=\"14\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c15\" colnum=\"15\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c16\" colnum=\"16\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c17\" colnum=\"17\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c18\" colnum=\"18\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"Underline\" class=\"Underline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eVariable\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eModel 1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eModel 2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEst.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"6\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEst.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c17\" namest=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c18\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMain Effects\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDay\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.31\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.31\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhysical Functioning\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eLives Alone\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.08\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.47\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.31\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.14\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.08\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.47\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.31\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.14\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGender (female)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.08\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.65\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.08\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.65\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmployment (not employed)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.08\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.85\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.17\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.14\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.08\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.85\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.17\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.14\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePartnered\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.53\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.25\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.53\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.25\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot White\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.22\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.18\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.57\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.22\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.18\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.57\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEducational Attainment\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFuture Time Perspective\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.26\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.26\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eConstraints\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMastery\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.71\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.71\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBetween-Person Solitude\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.93\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.93\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eWithin-Person Solitude\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eInteraction\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDaily Solitude (WP) x Educational Attainment\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntercept\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.37\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.14\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.60\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eRandom Effects\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSlope (WP time alone)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntercept\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.23\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.18\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.29\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.23\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.18\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.29\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntercept-slope cov. (WP time alone)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eResidual\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.22\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePseudo \u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBP\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.44\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.44\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eWP\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c15\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c16\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c18\" namest=\"c17\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"18\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eNotes. N\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;189. \u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;7.68 daily assessments per person. Est. = Unstandardized estimate; SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Standard error; CI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Confidence interval; Constraints\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Control beliefs constraints; Mastery\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Control beliefs mastery; Cov. = Covariance. \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCross-product terms were added to test hypothesised moderation (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, Model 2). Specifically, we predicted that the negative associations of daily solitude with daily positive affect would be weaker for those with higher educational attainment, higher sense of control, and a more open-ended future time perspective. Contrary to our expectations, we found a significant \u003cem\u003enegative\u003c/em\u003e interaction of educational attainment on positive affect, indicating that as average time alone increased, older adults with more education experienced lower positive affect in solitude than those with less education. Figure\u0026nbsp;1 shows model implied predicted values for positive affect across values of within-person daily solitude at higher (1 standard deviation above the mean) and lower (1 standard deviation below the mean) levels of educational attainment.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe did not find evidence that future time perspective or control beliefs (i.e., higher mastery and lower constraints) moderated the relationship between daily solitude and daily positive affect, suggesting more open-ended future time perspective and higher control beliefs may not buffer against negative wellbeing consequences as older adult\u0026rsquo;s average daily time alone increases. We also found no interaction effects for our covariates on within-person solitude and positive affect.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eResults of the analysis used to test associations of solitude with daily sense of purpose are shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. Both within-person and between-person daily solitude were negatively associated with sense of purpose, indicating that participants who typically spend relatively more time in solitude reported lower sense of purpose, and on days when participants spent greater time alone than is typical for them, their sense of purpose tended to be lower. Both future time perspective and perceived constraints were significant predictorsࣧthose with a more open-ended future time perspective and those who perceived lower constraints experienced greater overall sense of purpose. None of our covariates were significantly associated with sense of purpose. We found no evidence for educational attainment, control beliefs, or future time perspective moderating the relationship between daily solitude and sense of purpose. We also found no interaction effects for any of our covariates on within-person solitude and sense of purpose.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMultilevel Models Examining Sense of Purpose as a Function of Daily Solitude, Future Time Perspective, Control Beliefs, and Educational Attainment\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"12\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c12\" colnum=\"12\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"6\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eModel 1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c11\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEst.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMain Effects\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDay\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.96\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.36\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhysical Functioning\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.68\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eLives Alone\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.28\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.43\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.51\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-1.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.56\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGender (female)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.28\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.30\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.34\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.30\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.86\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmployed\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.30\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.18\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.18\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.99\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePartnered\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.49\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.36\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.17\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-1.19\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEthnicity (Not White)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.22\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.66\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.73\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-1.52\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.07\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEducational Attainment\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.24\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFuture Time Perspective\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.76\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eConstraints\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.07\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.10\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMastery\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.63\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBetween-person Solitude\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.06\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.11\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eWithin-Person Solitude\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.07\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.03\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntercept\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10.63\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.44\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e9.77\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.49\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eRandom Effects\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSlope (WP time alone)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntercept\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.38\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.38\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.17\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.20\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntercept-slope cov. (WP time alone)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.08\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.16\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eResidual\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.45\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.27\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.64\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePseudo \u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBP\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.46\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eWP\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.35\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"12\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eNotes. N\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;189. \u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;7.68 daily assessments per person. Est. = Unstandardized estimate; SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Standard error; CI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Confidence interval; Constraints\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Control beliefs constraints; Mastery\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Control beliefs mastery; Cov. = Covariance. \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a final series of analyses (see supplementary material) that were not pre-registered, we explored whether associations between time alone and wellbeing varied as a function of the quality of people\u0026rsquo;s typical social exchanges as discussed in Huxhold et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Specifically, we examined both positive and negative social exchanges assessed using the PANSE (see Method) as potential moderators of negative within-person solitude and positive affect and sense of purpose associations. We found main effects whereby higher negative social exchanges were associated with lower positive affect and sense of purpose, and higher positive social exchanges were associated with higher positive affect and sense of purpose. However, neither positive nor negative social exchanges moderated associations of daily solitude with positive affect or sense of purpose.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examined whether time spent alone in the daily lives of older adults was associated with lower levels of positive affect and sense of purpose, and whether these associations were buffered by theoretically relevant aspects of personality (control beliefs), motivation (future time perspective) and socio-economic status (education). Our findings provided mixed support for our hypotheses. Main effects were generally consistent with our expectations regarding the assessment of positive solitude using a \u0026lsquo;slopes-as-outcomes\u0026rsquo; approach. Specifically, our results revealed that spending more daily time in solitude than is typical compared to one\u0026rsquo;s average corresponded with both lower positive affect and lower sense of purpose. At the same time, substantial interindividual differences in these associations (as indicated by the significant random slopes for within-person solitude) suggested that people vary in the extent to which spending time alone related to the quality of positive affective experience and sense of purpose. Contrary to predictions, we did not find evidence that a more open-ended future time perspective or greater sense of control was associated with greater positive solitude (operationalized using the within-person solitude slopes for positive affect and sense of purpose). Furthermore, we found the negative within-person solitude and positive affect association to be weaker for those with \u003cem\u003elower\u003c/em\u003e educational attainment, compared to higher educational attainment (we had predicted the opposite).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec24\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSolitude in Older Adults\u0026rsquo; Day-to-Day Lives\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eOlder adults spend a significant amount of time alone, and our findings broadly align with research linking greater time alone in older age with negative health and psychological outcomes (e.g., loneliness and depression; Hawkley \u0026amp; Cacioppo, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e). According to Carstensen\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1992\u003c/span\u003e) Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST), older adults are generally driven to seek positive affective experiences in the present, often through meaningful and purposeful connection and activities with close ties, which might explain our findings that sense of purpose and positive affect decline when older adults spend more time alone than average. Here, we extended current solitude research in older age by operationalising positive solitude using a slope-as-outcomes approach to indirectly capture the extent to which solitude was experienced positively or negatively. Measuring positive solitude indirectly in daily life contexts may provide higher ecological validity and reduce self-presentational biases compared to studies that used direct self-reports of positive solitude (e.g., \u0026ldquo;were you bothered by your solitude\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;when I find time for myself, I feel focused and able to achieve my best results\u0026rdquo;; Zambrano Garza et al., 2024; Palgi et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOf central interest was whether positive solitude (operationalized as a less-negative within-person covariation between daily solitude and wellbeing) would be more evident among participants with a more open-ended future time perspective and higher control beliefs (i.e., higher perceived mastery and lower perceived constraints). Against expectations, neither future time perspective nor control beliefs were found to moderate associations of within-person daily solitude with positive affect or sense of purpose. Although speculative, it may be that older adult\u0026rsquo;s beliefs about their abilities, obstacles, and future time left to live play less of a role in determining the affective and purpose-related sequalae of time spent alone than physical and environmental contextual factors (Infurna \u0026amp; Okun, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). For example, the Contextual Dynamics of Aging Model (CODA; Wahl \u0026amp; Gerstorf, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR67\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) highlights the importance of diverse and dynamic contextual factors (e.g., economic, social, physical environment, care services, technology, relational processes) in shaping health and wellbeing outcomes for older adults, and suggests potential pathways (i.e., context-person-agency, context-person-belonging, and context-person-stress) through which such contextual factors could influence health and wellbeing. To illustrate, having pleasant and accessible, natural spaces in one\u0026rsquo;s proximal physical environment could lead to older adults choosing to access these spaces for solitude (context-person-agency), which in turn may lead to feelings of appreciation and attachment for their neighborhood and the landscape (context-person-belonging) that facilitate positive psychological wellbeing independently of personality or motivational factors.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn line with the CODA model, a recent review by Chen and Liu (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) highlighted the importance of interpersonal differences (e.g., demographic and social) on wellbeing in solitude in older age. They found only a few studies had examined the role of social contextual factors (e.g., diversity in social networks, living alone versus living with others, participation in community activities) on solitude and positive solitude experiences. Although we examined several key contextual variables among the covariates and in exploratory analyses, future studies may benefit from more comprehensively examining the role of social contextual factors on the experience of daily solitude (e.g., social network diversity; Chen \u0026amp; Liu, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Huxhold et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is also possible that relatively stable individual difference factors, such as aspects of personality or one\u0026rsquo;s capacity or preference for positive solitude, could play a greater role in solitude experiences than motivational, goal-oriented psychological processes (i.e., future time perspective, control beliefs). For example, Palgi et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) recently developed a nine-item measure of positive solitude based on the theoretical idea that positive solitude is a generally stable stand-alone individual ability; that may include a state-like skill that can change or improve across time. To our knowledge, Palgi et al.\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) positive solitude construct has not been examined as a potential moderator of daily solitude and wellbeing in older age.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, certain personality trait characteristics could influence the likelihood of experiencing solitude positively (Lay et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). For example, introverts are thought to gain energy from spending time alone, and introversion has been associated with a higher preference for solitude, spending more time in solitude, and having a greater appreciation for solitude than extroversion (Burger, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1995\u003c/span\u003e; Zelenski et al., 2014). In contrast, Leary et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e) found that undergraduate students higher in characteristics of extraversion (e.g., enjoyment being with others and enjoyment talking to people) were less likely to experience enjoyment from solitude activities than those lower in extraversion. At the same time, Srivastava et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e) examined adults\u0026rsquo; (18\u0026ndash;55 years) day-to-day experiences of positive affect and found that both extroverts \u003cem\u003eand\u003c/em\u003e introverts had higher positive affect when interacting with others than when they did not interact with others. Future solitude research could examine stable intrapersonal differences (e.g., introversion and extroversion, and positive solitude as an individual ability) on wellbeing in daily solitude among older adults\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFinally, we expected more highly educated older adults would have higher cognitive reserve and greater cognitive resources (e.g., greater ability on neuropsychological tasks; Leon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e) that would facilitate engagement in intellectually engaging solitary activities (e.g., Nucci et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Opdebeeck et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e), which in turn would facilitate positive solitude. However, our results showed older adults with more educational attainment experienced lower positive affect when spending more time alone than average compared to those with less educational attainment. Research has linked higher educational attainment and higher cognitive reserve with greater social engagement and larger and more diverse social networks in older age (Barrett et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e; Martinčević \u0026amp; Vranić, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Van Groenou \u0026amp; Van Tilburg, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR66\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e; Windsor et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR73\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore, it is possible that more educated older adults experienced lower positive affect when their average time alone increased because of a greater relative investment in goals involving valued social connections (Martinčević, \u0026amp; Vranić, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e), rather than solitary activities.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec25\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSolitude and Wellbeing in Older Age\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eOur results showed that participants who spent more time in solitude overall reported lower sense of purpose than those who spent less overall time alone. Having a higher sense of purpose has been found to robustly predict positive outcomes in older age such as happiness and greater life satisfaction, better physical health, including engaging in health behaviours and greater longevity, and better social outcomes, such as more positive social interactions (Pfund, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Windsor et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR72\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Our findings suggest that social partners have a key role to play in the maintenance of sense of purpose in daily life.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eParticipants who reported higher overall solitude did not differ in positive affect relative to those who reported lower overall time in solitude. This finding highlights the importance of disaggregating between- and within-person associations, as taken together the results suggest that spending more time alone than is typical is associated with a dip in positive aspects of wellbeing, whereas older participants\u0026rsquo; overall experiences of solitude were not associated with wellbeing. We speculate that the absence of a between-person association in our data could reflect the successful operation of processes of self- and emotion-regulation, whereby older adults adapt to changing life circumstances through the effective management of goals (Wrosch et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR74\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e) and emotional experience (Allen \u0026amp; Windsor, 2017; Urry \u0026amp; Gross, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e) across changing life contexts. The results are also likely to reflect older adults\u0026rsquo; exercising of agency in shaping their social worlds, in which general levels of social connection are established through resource investment (determined by capacities and moderated by motivation; Huxhold et al., 2023) in ways that align with emotional needs.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec26\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStrengths, Limitations and Future Directions\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA strength of our approach was the focus on maximizing ecological validity and reducing self-presentational biases by using an indirect method to estimate experiences of positive solitude. Despite this novel element, our results should be considered with several limitations in mind. First, our sample was not broadly representative of older adults, as most participants were White, in good health (ten Klooster et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Wilton-Harding, \u0026amp; Windsor, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR71\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e), highly educated, female, and did not represent the oldest old (i.e., ages 85 and above). Second, our use of repeated assessment daily diary methodology to examine older adult\u0026rsquo;s day-to-day allowed us to capture daily solitude experiences with low participant burden (Vachon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e), which resulted in high participant compliance; however, research has shown that affect, the nature of experiences, and how they are processed may differ across time frames (e.g., moment-to-moment; Garza et al., 2023). It is possible that our daily diary method may not have been fine-grained enough to capture the complexity of older adult\u0026rsquo;s momentary positive experiences of solitude (Chui et al., 2022). Future research might benefit from using time-sampling methodology with a shorter sampling frame (e.g., 3 daily questionnaires over the 10-day sampling period; as per Lay et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Pauly et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e), or event-based time sampling to more directly examine correlates of momentary solitude (Zambrano Garza et al., 2024). Although wellbeing declined when people\u0026rsquo;s daily average time alone increased, it is also conceivable that decreases in wellbeing might contribute to people seeking solitude (Pauly et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). Future research should examine the causal mechanisms underlying these influences by testing them experimentally (e.g., the role of solitude in producing positive affect by manipulating the types of activities done in solitude; Jiang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe current study contributed to new knowledge regarding intraindividual and interindividual later life solitude experiences. Our findings that older adults experience poorer wellbeing in terms of lower positive affect and sense of purpose when their daily solitude is higher than usual highlights the importance of supportive social contexts for maintaining optimal daily wellbeing in later life. We found significant interindividual variability in the extent to which within-person solitude was associated with wellbeing, supporting the notion that solitude is experienced relatively more or less positively by different people (Weinstein et al., 2023). Older adults with more education were found to experience lower positive affect in solitude than those with less education, highlighting the role of educational attainment as a potential moderator between solitude and wellbeing. Future research may benefit from assessing a broader range of contextual, capacity-related, and personality factors, including using self-reported trait-based assessments of positive solitude (Palgi et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) to better understand daily life dynamics of solitude and wellbeing.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eDeclarations: Author 1 is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData will be made available upon request to the corresponding author.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study was approved by the Flinders University Human Research Ethics Committee.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eL.R. contributed to conceptualisation, wrote the manuscript text and prepared tables and figures. T.W. conceptualised the study, led analysis of data and contributed to drafting the manuscript. LR, B. W-H, K.F. and A.R. contributed to study design, reviewed and revised the manuscript including manuscript text, tables, and figures.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eData will be made available upon request to the corresponding author.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAllen, V. C., \u0026amp; Windsor, T. D. (2019). 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Wiley. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1002/9781118427378.ch11\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1002/9781118427378.ch11\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"positive solitude, intraindividual variability, control beliefs, future time perspective","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7634316/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7634316/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSolitude (the objective state of being alone without social interaction) can have both negative and positive implications for wellbeing in older age. This study examined (1) whether changes in older adults\u0026rsquo; day-to-day time spent in solitude were associated with positive affect and sense of purpose, and (2) whether such associations were moderated by interindividual difference factors. Using online daily assessments conducted every evening for 10 consecutive days (\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;189, ages: 64\u0026ndash;84 years), we examined the moderating roles of future time perspective, control beliefs, and educational attainment on the relationship between daily solitude and daily wellbeing. Multilevel analysis revealed that on days when people spent greater-than-usual time alone, they reported lower positive affect and lower sense of purpose. No moderating effects were found for future time perspective or control beliefs on the relationships between daily solitude and positive wellbeing. Participants with greater educational attainment reported lower positive affect when spending more time alone than average. Our findings provide evidence that wellbeing tends to be lower on days when older adults spend more time alone, supporting the importance of social context as a conduit to daily wellbeing experiences in later life.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Solo and Satisfied? Investigating Daily Solitude Experiences in Older Age","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-04 01:23:22","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7634316/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"208ef473-058b-438a-8e21-f115cdbaf0f8","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 4th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-03T12:00:56+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-04 01:23:22","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7634316","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7634316","identity":"rs-7634316","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}