How Much Do You Need to Be Alone?
How much time alone you want, and whether you go towards it or run into it
Two people can spend the same Sunday alone and have completely different days. For one it is a choice - quiet, space to think, a reset. For the other it is a retreat from people who feel like too much. Research on solitude has found that this reason matters more than the amount: time alone that you choose tends to calm and restore, while time alone used to get away from others tends to go with more loneliness. This test measures both how much you want solitude and why.
Before you start There are no right answers. Pick what is usually true for you, not what sounds best.
Think about the last few months of ordinary life, not a holiday or a particularly hard week.
What it measures
Three things: your preference for solitude, meaning how much you seek and enjoy time alone, and two motivations for it - chosen solitude, for what it gives you, and solitude as escape, to get away from people or discomfort. It is not introversion, which is about social energy in general, and not loneliness, which is the painful feeling of lacking connection; both are measured elsewhere on the site.
Based on: Preference for Solitude Scale (Burger, 1995) and Motivation for Solitude Scale - Short Form (Thomas & Azmitia, 2019)
Possible results
Preference for solitude
How much you seek out and enjoy time on your own.
Chosen solitude
Being alone because you value what it gives you.
Solitude as escape
Being alone to get away from people or discomfort.
Common questions
Is liking solitude the same as being an introvert?
They are related but not the same. Preference for solitude and introversion overlap, but they are not identical: some sociable, talkative people still need regular stretches of quiet, and some shy people dislike being alone.
Is it unhealthy to prefer being alone?
Not in itself. The research points to the reason rather than the amount: solitude chosen for rest, thought or creativity is linked to relaxation and wellbeing, while solitude used mainly to escape people is linked to more loneliness. A high first bar with a low third bar is a healthy combination.
What is the difference between solitude and loneliness?
Solitude is a situation: being on your own. Loneliness is a feeling: the gap between the connection you want and the connection you have. You can be alone and content, or surrounded by people and lonely. If the feeling is what you want to look at, the site has a separate loneliness test.
Sources
- Burger, J. M. (1995). Individual differences in preference for solitude. Journal of Research in Personality. doi:10.1006/jrpe.1995.1005
- Thomas, V., & Azmitia, M. (2019). Motivation matters: Development and validation of the Motivation for Solitude Scale - Short Form (MSS-SF). Journal of Adolescence. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.11.004
- Nguyen, T. T., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2018). Solitude as an approach to affective self-regulation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. doi:10.1177/0146167217733073
An honest note The statements are Quinthea's own wording, adapted from Burger's Preference for Solitude Scale and from the Motivation for Solitude Scale, so scores are not comparable to published norms. Only the first bar corresponds to Burger's scale; the other two come from a separate instrument, validated mainly with adolescents and young adults in the United States. This is not a measure of loneliness and not a diagnosis. If pulling away from people has come with persistent low mood or fear of others, talk to a professional.