Читать книгу The Handbook of Solitude - Группа авторов - Страница 35

Mario Mikulincer¹, Phillip R. Shaver², and Inbal Gal¹

¹Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Israel

²University of California Davis, USA

Being together and being alone are two core human experiences that have both rewarding and aversive aspects and can have both positive and negative implications for well‐being and psychosocial functioning (e.g., Coplan et al., 2018; Cupach & Spitzberg, 2010). In the current chapter, we focus on the experience of being alone and propose an attachment‐theoretical (Bowlby, 1973, 1982, 1988) perspective for explaining individual differences in attitudes toward solitude and feelings of loneliness. Specifically, we propose that a sense of attachment security (a belief that one can trust others and can confidently expect that they will be available and responsive when needed) provides a solid foundation for enjoying periods of solitude and developing a capacity to be comfortably alone. In contrast, attachment insecurities interfere with this capacity and transform solitude into an undesirable experience of loneliness. We begin with a brief summary of adult attachment theory and provide an account of the sense of security and the two major dimensions of attachment insecurity, anxiety, and avoidance. Next, we review findings on the interpersonal manifestations of attachment insecurities. Then we propose an attachment perspective on solitude and loneliness and review empirical research concerning attachment‐related differences, during adolescence and adulthood, in the experience of being alone.