NO TIME FOR MYSELF: PERSONALITY MODERATES - ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN SOLITUDE AND PARENTAL WELL-BEING

Sep 28, 2026

Parental well-being is frequently strained by caregiving demands, limiting opportunities for solitude—time to oneself. Prior work supports solitude’s benefits, but personality-based differences remain unclear. This study tests whether personality traits moderate links between daily solitude and well-being in parents, using negative affect and cortisol as indicators. Multilevel analyses of 318 parents from a daily diary study assess repeated reports over 8 days and salivary cortisol from days 2–5.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Background and Aim

Study Design and Measures

Participants and Data Sources

Outcomes: Negative Affect and Cortisol

Statistical Analysis

Results

Implications

FAQs

How does solitude relate to parents’ daily well-being in this study?

On days when parents reported having time to themselves, they showed lower negative affect and steeper wake-evening cortisol slopes, indicating improved emotional and physiological well-being patterns.

Which personality trait moderated the solitude–well-being association?

Higher neuroticism strengthened the association between time to oneself and negative affect, as well as the cortisol slope relationship.

What was the study’s main objective?

To determine whether personality traits moderate the association between daily solitude and well-being outcomes, including negative affect and cortisol levels among parents.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Valentina