The Handbook of Solitude was a comprehensive academic volume of psychological research related to the construct of solitude. The book was published in December of 2013, but most chapters were written in 2011. Not only has there been an enormous amount of new theory and empirical research in this area since this time, but entirely new avenues of research have emerged. For example, continuing and rapid advances in social-networking and computer-mediated communication technologies are fundamentally redefining the very definition of what it means to be “alone”. As well, it is now becoming clear that the meaning and implications of solitude can vary significantly across cultures.

Accompanying this increased academic interest, the topic of solitude has also become increasingly salient in popular culture and in the popular press (e.g., as evident by the recent book publications of Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, by Sherry Turkle; Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain; and most recently Solitude: A Singular Life in a Crowded World, by Michael Harris).

Robert J. Coplan, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University and Director of the Pickering Centre for Research in Human Development. His research focuses on the development and implications of shyness and social withdrawal, from early childhood to emerging adulthood, and across cultures.  

Julie C. Bowker is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Her research focus is on socio-emotional development and psychopathology during late childhood and early adolescence. 

Larry J. Nelson, PhD, is Professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Maryland. His research focuses on factors related to flourishing and floundering in the transition to adulthood including the role of social withdrawal, parenting, and culture.  

I. HISTORICAL & THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

1. Something Old and Something New: Historical and Recent Perspectives on the Study of Solitude *

Robert J. Coplan (Carleton University, Canada)

Julie C. Bowker (University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, USA)

Larry J. Nelson (Brigham Young University, USA)

2. Social Withdrawal in Childhood: History and Theory *

Kenneth Rubin (University of Maryland, USA)

3. An Attachment Perspective on Loneliness and the Need to Belong

Mario Mikulincer (Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Israel)

Phillip R. Shaver (University of California Davis, USA)

4. Neuroscientific and Evolutionary Perspectives on Shyness and Social Withdrawal *

Louis Schmidt (McMaster University, Canada)

5. Revisiting the Benefits of Solitude *

Evangelia Galanaki (University of Athens, Greece)

6. Cultural Perspectives on the Study of Solitude *

Xinyin Chen (University of Pennsylvania, USA)

Junsheng Liu (East China Normal University, China)

7. The Quiet Revolution *

Susan Cain

II. SOLITUDE ACROSS THE LIFESPAN

8. Positive and Negative Expressions of Shyness in Infancy and Childhood *

Cristina Colonnesi (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)

9. The Causes and Consequences of Playing Alone in Childhood

Robert J. Coplan (Carleton University, Canada)

10. Peer Rejection in Childhood

Drew Nesdale (Griffith University, Australia)

Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck (Griffith University, Australia)