Unsocial subjects vs social ones: No significant differences in self-esteem, social comparisons, emotional regulation, self-harm, suicidal ideations, quality of relations with others, anxiety sensitivity, social anhedonia or depression

Does it matter when we want to Be alone? Exploring developmental timing effects in the implications of unsociability. Robert J. Coplan, Laura L. Ooi, Danielle Baldwin. New Ideas in Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2018.01.001

Highlights
•    Unsociability refers to a non-fearful preference for solitude.
•    We discuss various approaches to conceptualizing and measuring this construct.
•    A theoretical model of developmental timing effects for unsociability is proposed.
•    Links between unsociability and well-being may vary across development.

Abstract: Unsociability is a characteristic that refers to individual differences in the non-fearful preference for solitude. There is continued debate pertaining to the potential costs and benefits of solitude for our well-being. In this essay, we consider various approaches to the conceptualization and measurement of unsociability, and explore its implications for socio-emotional functioning. Further, we propose a somewhat speculative theoretical model of developmental timing effects for unsociability, which postulates non-linear variations in the implications of a heightened preference for solitude from early childhood to emerging adulthood. After considering the existing empirical support for this model, we outline remaining topics of concerns and suggest the most pressing directions for future research.

Keywords: Unsociability; Solitude; Social withdrawal; Preference for solitude; Developmental timing

---My question is: why then there is such apprehension in parents with child's unsociabilty? I trust the parents more than the researchers, something is not being captured in these samples we are studying.

Disclosure: I am quite unsocial.