Using Language to Test Developmental Differences in Attitudes Toward Solitude in Adolescents and Emerging Adults

The goal of this study was to assess developmental differences in adolescents’ and emerging adults’ attitudes toward solitude using three different methodologies. Participants were N = 1224 adolescents ( n = 367, ages 15–18 years, M age = 16.13, SD = 0.54; 65.7% female) and emerging adults ( n = 857, aged 18–29 years, M age = 19.75 years, SD = 2.28; 70.2% female). Participants completed a rating scale assessing explicit attitudes towards solitude. Linguistic indices of attitudes were also derived from participants’ descriptions of someone who ‘enjoys and values solitude’, using both content analysis and sentiment analysis. Themes derived from a content analysis of these descriptions included ‘Introvert’, ‘Ambivert’, ‘Neutral’, ‘Positive’ and ‘Negative’. Lexicon‐based sentiment analysis was also completed to assess levels of valence, arousal and dominance in each description. Results indicate a complex set of inter‐associations among methodological approaches to measuring attitudes toward solitude. However, across all three methodologies, emerging adults displayed more positive views of solitude than adolescents.