Interrelations Among Adolescents’ Family Connections, Solitude Preferences, Theory of Mind and Perceptions of Academic and Work Competence

Abstract

This study explored the links among family connections, solitude preferences, perceptions of work (academic and job) competence, and Theory of Mind (ToM) in 73 Canadian adolescents aged 11–18 (M age = 13.1). Previous studies show significant connections among these factors, although little is known about how such associations may relate to one another, especially the role of young people’s perceptions. To address these gaps in the literature, this study focused on adolescents’ experiences and perceptions of their family relationships, solitude preferences, and competence in the school context and workplace. Participants completed a series of self-report measures, advanced ToM tasks and written explanation for perceived family emotional connections. Results revealed that adolescents with more positive family connections reported higher levels of self-perceived academic and job competence, embraced solitude positively, yet felt less desire to be alone. Girls showed a higher affinity for solitude than boys, and the presence of more siblings reduced the desire for solitude. Those youth who were proficient in ToM skills reported positive family connections and high levels of academic competence. Findings hold implications for future research and education in adolescent’s social cognition and social and academic outcomes.

Keywords:

• Adolescents
• family relationships
• Theory of Mind
• academic competence
• social cognition

Adolescence is a pivotal time in development, marked by various social and biological transitions (Buhrmester, 1996). During this period, young people spend an increasing proportion of time with their peers compared to their parents, as they start developing their own self-worth and individual identities (Buhrmester, 1996). At the same time, adolescents’ relationships with their parents become an important protective factor against social isolation, conflict, and emotional distress (Wang & Cai, 2017). Previous research shows positive and supportive parent-child relationships and family social-emotional environments promote adolescents’ adjustment and well-being across multiple contexts, including mental health (Cavanagh, 2008; Bosacki et al., 2020), school outcomes (Luthar et al., 2015), and may lessen the risk for depression and delinquency (Farrell et al., 2010). Although some studies have identified positive links between family relationships and ToM in young children (Devine & Hughes, 2018), few have explored how ToM skills relate to an adolescents’ family social-emotional connections and family dynamics. Such a lack of research is surprising given the family environment where a child grows up is likely to have a significant influence on social and emotional well-being both in adolescence and into adulthood (Botelho Guedes et al., 2022). To address this dearth in the literature, the current study explored adolescents’ emotional connections with their family, specifically their perceived closeness with their parents—and how these perceptions related to their preferences for solitude and perceptions of perceived academic and job competencies.

One of the key questions of the present study was how family relationships relate to adolescents’ feelings about times when they are alone and not communicating with others (voluntary solitude). Developing an understanding of solitude preferences is important given that, during the teenage years, adolescents begin to spend an increasing proportion of time alone, due to a range of both positive and negative reasons (Kumar et al., 2023). For example, some youth prefer solitude to avoid others, or because of anxiety and fear of social interactions (Borg & Willoughby, 2023; Leigh & Clark, 2018). In contrast, some youth withdraw from others for emotional reflection, relaxation, and self-care (Coplan et al., 2021).

Despite such mixed findings, spending time alone is often portrayed as an undesirable state of social isolation that leads to feelings of loneliness (see Coplan et al., 2021, for a review). Loneliness is associated with a range of negative consequences including internalizing disorders and poor academic adjustment (see Jefferson et al., 2023); As such developing a more sophisticated understanding of differences between adolescents who experience benefits from periods of solitude compared to those who more frequently experience loneliness will be beneficial for promoting positive experiences of solitude and reducing the prevalence of loneliness.

Heshmati et al. (2021) explored the role of different family-triad network systems (2 parents and 1 child) (Heshmati et al., 2021) on adolescent loneliness. The findings revealed that adolescents who belonged to closed triad structures (ie strong emotional bonds reciprocated between both parents and their child) reported significantly lower levels of loneliness compared to adolescents who belonged to triads in which one or more of the relationships between either both parents or parent and child were less emotionally strong (ie less reciprocated care; Heshmati et al., 2021; Motataianu, 2015). Such findings suggest that strong family bonds may influence adolescents’ solitude experiences. However, the application of this understanding may be limited to only triad family structures containing a single child and two parents. Therefore, further investigation with diverse family types is needed, including single-parent families, multiple children/siblings, stepfamilies, and caregiver families.

Building on the previous finding, it is important to include a broader range of family structures as studies show how sibling relationships play an important role in adolescents’ well-being and development (Kramer et al., 2019). For example, sibling emotional warmth—or quality of sibling relationships has been linked to a range of positive developmental outcomes including social competence and academic engagement (Howe et al., 2023). Consistent with recent findings, the current study focused on adolescents’ perceptions of their whole family connections in addition to comparisons between the number of siblings present in the family.

Studies have also shown how family relationships influence adolescents’ academic and job competence (see Zhao & Zhao, 2022, for a recent review). Research addressing adolescents’ academic and job competencies is important given that past research has identified positive relationships between academic achievement and psychological well-being including self-concept and self-acceptance (Wolff et al., 2018), in addition to links between loneliness and poor academic outcomes (Jefferson et al., 2023; Matthews et al., 2019; Zimmer-Gembeck et al., 2023). Much less is known about self-perceived job competence in adolescent populations, despite figures suggesting that the majority of youth will have a job at some point during their adolescent years (Greene & Staff, 2012). This is important to address given that perceived readiness to perform in employment is shown to correlate with emotional resiliency and reduced stress during the transition into adulthood (Mortimer & Staff, 2004). Moreover, a significant proportion of previous research on associations between parents/families and work outcomes has focused on young adolescents aged 11–14 (Zhao & Zhao, 2022). Therefore, a broader account of such connections in adolescence is important given that prior literature highlights the increasing complexity in work competencies for older youth approaching the end of academia and moving toward permanent employment (Icenogle et al., 2019). The current study bridges this gap, including both older and younger adolescents aged 11–18 to develop a more generalizable account of adolescent outcomes. Furthermore, the current study aimed to expand previous findings, exploring potential inter-correlations among adolescents’ perceptions of family relationships, solitude preferences and perceptions of their academic and job competence to gain a better understanding of how these factors may interact.

Our final variable of interest was Theory of Mind (ToM), which refers to an individual’s ability to understand the mental and emotional states of others (Osterhaus & Bosacki, 2022). Previous literature on ToM and parent-child relationships has shown that youth with a deeper understanding of other people’s emotional states and perspectives report emotionally close and secure connections with their parents and siblings (eg Branje, 2018), Some studies suggest that adolescents’ abilities to understand the emotions and perspectives of their family members may facilitate more effective communication and conflict resolution skills with their parents and siblings (Lam et al., 2012; Mónaco et al., 2019). Furthermore, higher levels of ToM are also associated with reduced loneliness during childhood (Yu et al., 2024), this study aims to expand upon such findings to examine whether similar associations exist for adolescents.

ToM skills have also been shown to correlate with self-esteem (Slaughter, 2015), intellectual intelligence (Osterhaus & Koerber, 2021) and higher proficiency in children’s academic competences (eg Binnie, 2005; Slaughter, 2015; Tonini et al., 2023); However, less is known about relations between ToM proficiency and adolescents’ self-perceptions of their academic competence, or potential associations between ToM skills and job competencies. Of the few studies that do exist, most show that increased adolescent academic self-concept is linked to increased activation in mentalizing regions during self-evaluation (Van Der Aar et al., 2019; Weimer et al., 2021). Studies have also identified positive links between ToM and academic competence in children and youth, especially in terms of reading and mathematical skills (Lecce et al., 2017).

Given past findings that positive relations exist between adolescents’ ToM skills and both perceived self-worth and actual competencies, the present study predicted that higher levels of ToM proficiency would relate to higher self-perceptions of academic competence. Similarly, as self-perceptions of academic competence and job or work-related competence reflect different although possibly related dimensions of one’s self-concept, we also predicted that ToM will be positively related to one’s job competence.

The current study

This study expands on previous research by exploring the associations among family connections, feelings toward solitude, ToM proficiency, and perceived academic and job competence. While most previous work has explored these phenomena either with younger children or adults, the current study aims to examine these factors simultaneously to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted nature of adolescents social, emotional, and academic lives. Another goal of our study was to investigate whether ToM mediates the relations between adolescents’ perceived family connectedness, their feelings or attitudes toward solitude or time spent alone, and their perceptions of academic and work-related competencies. Prior research (eg Pavarini et al., 2012) suggests that the quality of parent-child relationships may contribute to the development of their child’s ToM, which in turn may shape their child’s attitude toward solitude and school experiences. Therefore, we predicted that ToM proficiency may mediate associations between family connections, feelings about solitude and academic competence. Overall, the results of this examination have important practical implications for developing more effective, targeted interventions and support to promote positive development and well-being in adolescents.

Based on previous literature, we made the following hypotheses:

1. Stronger family connections will be associated with more positive feelings toward solitude (greater affinity/loss aversion)

2. Stronger family connections will be associated with greater perceived work (job and academic) competence.

3. Stronger ToM proficiency will be associated with more positive feelings toward solitude (greater affinity/loss aversion)

4. Stronger ToM proficiency will be associated with greater perceived work (job and academic) competence.

5. ToM serves as a mediator in associations between family connections, feelings toward solitude and perceptions of work competence (Academic & Job).

Methods

Participants

As part of a larger longitudinal study on Canadian adolescents’ social, emotional and cognitive development, this study examined data from 99 individuals aged 11–18, recruited from schools in Ontario Canada; Of which 26 were excluded for not meeting inclusion criteria: 4 identified their Gender as ‘other,’ which was deemed an insufficient quantity to include as a discrete gender category; 22 were excluded based on an incomplete questionnaire, or large proportions of missing data (entire sub-scales incomplete), resulting in a final sample of N = 73 participants: 41 Female (56.2%), 32 Male (43.8%); Mean age 13.57 (2.094 SD). The majority of participants spoke English as their first language (N = 66 (90.4%). Ethics clearance was obtained from the participating universities and schools’ research ethics boards. Parental written informed consent and adolescent verbal assent were obtained prior to participation in the study. All data was made confidential prior to data analysis to protect participant confidentiality.

Measures

Perceived relationships with parents and family

Relationship to parents was assessed using the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (Marcoen et al., 1987): Sub-scale 2 (α = .88).). (LA_Parents). Whilst this subscale was developed as a measure of child/adolescent’s loneliness with their parents, previous studies have also established the scales construct validity as a measure of perceived relationship quality with parents (eg Goossens & Maes, 2017). The self-report sub-scale includes a 12-item, four-point Likert scale to measure participants’ relationship with their parents. Items were rated (1 = Often, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Seldom, 4 = Never) in response to a series of questions asking, ‘How often do you or do not feel in relation to the statements below’ (eg ‘I feel I have very strong ties with my parents’). Items 3, 5 and 11 were reversed to prevent acquiescence. Total scores represent a stronger perceived relationship with parents.

Adolescents’ connection to their family was assessed using two measurement tools, firstly the ‘Connections to others’—Family item (CO_Family)(Ramey et al., 2009). Taken from the original five-question survey, CO_Family asked participants to rate how connected they felt to their family on a five-point scale (1 = not at all, 5 = very much).

Relationship with family was also assessed using the ‘Personal Well-Being Index for school children (PWI-SC) (Casas & Frønes, 2020; Cummins & Lau, 2005): Items 9 A + B (‘How happy are you with your family?’ ‘Why?’). Part A asked participants to indicate how happy they were on a 10-point scale (0 = Verry sad, 5 = Not happy or sad, 10 = Very happy). This was followed by part B - a written explanation as to why they felt this way. Written responses were then analyzed collectively and again when divided into three distinct groups representing the scores provided in part A: (Group 1: 1–4 Not very happy, Group 2: 5–7 Not happy or Sad, Group 3: 8–10 Verry happy). Coding of the responses involved identifying common themes and terms before calculating the frequency of each theme present for each of the happiness groups (see Table 1 for frequency distributions).

Table 1. Means, standard deviations, skew and Pearson correlations (r).

Variable	Mean (SD)	Range	Skew	Age	N. siblings	LA_Parents	Family connection	ToM	LA affinity	LA aversion	Sol + Al	Academic competence	Job competence
Age	14.4 (2.2)	7.7	0.313	1	−0.063 p = 595	−0.110 p = .409	−0.249* p = .037	0.097 p = .420	0.079 p = .527	0.117 p = .338	0.041 p = .733	−0.292* p = .024	0.110 p = .452
N. siblings	0.8 (.81)	3	0.628	−0.063 p = 595	1	−0.031 p = .816	0.058 p = .632	−0.146 p = .220	−0.049 p = .696	0.166 p = .173	−0.239 p = .046	0.031 p = .817	−0.074 p = .615
LA_Parents	36.7 (8.7)	36	−0.871	−0.110 p = .409	−0.031 p = .816	1	0.434** p<.001	0.133 p = .325	−0.132 p = .332	−0.095 p = .485	−0.215 p = .111	0.307* p = .034	0.307* p = .048
Family connection	11.7 (3.1)	12	−1.074	−0.249* p = .037	0.058 p = .632	0.434* p<.001	1	0.176 p = .148	0.120* p = .011	0.107 p = .096	−0.056 p = .057	0.273* p = .027	0.055 p = .606
ToM	14 (3.5)	18	−0.382	0.097 p = .420	−0.146 p = .220	0.133 p = .325	0.176 p = .148	1	0.120 p = .340	0.107 p = .386	−0.056 p = .649	0.273* p = .035	0.055 p = .708
LA affinity	33.9 (7.8)	33	−0.260	0.079 p = .527	−0.049 p = .696	−0.132 p = .332	0.120* p = .011	0.120 p = .340	1	−0.413** p<.001	0.731** p<.001	−0.134 p = .330	−0.066 p = .664
LA aversion	31.3 (7.0)	32	−0.007	0.117 p = .338	0.166 p = .173	−0.095 p = .485	0.107 p = .096	0.107 p = .386	−0.413** p<.001	1	−0.245* p = .046	−0.016 p = .903	−0.040 p = .789
Sol + Al	32.4 (11.5)	48	0.271	0.041 p = .733	−0.239* p = .046	−0.215 p = .111	−0.056 p = .057	−0.056 p = .649	.731** p<.001	−0.245* p = .046	1	−0.163 p = .227	−0.056 p = .656
Academic competence	15.5 (4.5)	13	−0.698	−0.292* p = .024	0.031 p = .817	0.307* p = .034	0.273* p = .027	0.273* p = .035	−0.134 p = .330	−0.016 p = .903	−0.163 p = .227	1	0.369* p = .012
Job competence	14.8 (3.5)	15	0.661	0.110 p = .452	−0.074 p = .615	0.307* p = .048	0.055 p = .606	0.055 p = .708	0.664* p = −.040	−0.040 p = .789	−0.056 p  =  656	0.369* p = .012	1

Notes: *Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (two-tailed). **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (two-tailed).

Based on conceptual similarities and strong significant positive correlation identified between CO_Family and PWI_Family (r = .583, p<.001) the total scores for each measure were summated to generate a single Family Connections total score (CO + PWI) (α = .608).

Feelings about solitude

To assess adolescents’ feelings about solitude, three measurement scales were used, each focused on different types of feelings toward solitude (positive, negative and desire to be alone (Aloneliness)).

The Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LACS, Marcoen et al., 1987) (Sub-Scales 3 & 4) was used to assess two opposing attitudes toward being alone: Affinity (Positive attitudes toward being alone) (sub-scale 3 (α = .80)) and Aversion (Negative attitudes toward being alone) (sub-scale 4 (α = .81).). These Sub-Scales were specifically developed for use with adolescents aged 10–19 years as the previously available measures for adults were deemed developmentally inappropriate and difficult for this age group (Goossens & Maes, 2017). Each sub-scale, consisted of 12 statements regarding positive/affinitive or negative/aversive feelings toward solitude (eg ‘I want to be alone,’ ‘I feel unhappy when I have to do things on my own’); for each statement participants were asked to indicate how often they felt this way using a four-point scale (1 = Often, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Seldom, 4 = Never). Total scores for each sub-scale were reversed so that higher scores indicated greater affinitive/aversive feelings toward being alone.

The Solitude and Aloneliness Scale (Sol& Al) (Coplan et al., 2019), (α = .946). This 12-item questionnaire was developed to assess the construct of Aloneliness (A reflection of the discrepancy between actual time spent alone and ideal time in solitude that is desired (Coplan et al., 2019). Participants provided scores for how much they agreed with each of the 12 statements (eg ‘I am always craving more time alone’) on a five-choice scale: 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = neither agree nor disagree; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree). Higher total scores across the 12 items indicated a greater desire to spend time alone.

Theory of Mind

To assess the cognitive component of ToM, involving the attribution of mental states such as perspectives, beliefs and intentions, the present study used the following two advanced ToM tasks, both of which have been supported by a wide range of studies involving adolescents, providing evidence of convergent, discriminant and criterion validity as measures of adolescent ToM (eg Devine et al., 2016; Kovatchev et al., 2020).

The Strange Stories task (Happé, 1994; Happé and Frith, 2009) (ωt = .77). Participants read a series of five short stories/scenarios illustrating mental state themes such as deception and misunderstandings. After each story, participants responded to an open-response question to explain the behaviors of the characters based on their mental states and beliefs. The responses were coded by two independent reviewers and substantial inter-rater reliability was established (81% agreement) Based on White et al.’s (2009) coding scheme, responses were scored from 0 to 2 points: 0 = Inaccurate or irrelevant responses to the scenario, 1 = partially correct response involving mentalization, but no explanation given, 2 = accurate responses including both reference to mental states and an explanation. The greater the total score the more sophisticated/advanced the participant’s ToM.

The Silent Film Task (SF, Devine & Hughes, 2013) (Kappa = .82) Participants were shown six brief, silent film clips, each portraying examples of the character’s deception, false beliefs or misunderstanding. After participants watched each clip, they were asked one of the six corresponding questions which required them to consider the character’s beliefs, emotions, and intentions. Responses were again coded by two independent reviews in line with the framework devised by Devine and Hughes (2013): 0 = fail (inaccurate/irrelevant response), 1 = partial pass (correct explanation but missing evidence of mentalization), 2 = pass (evidence of both mental state reasoning and accurate explanation). Scores for the six questions were summated, the higher the total score, the greater the participant’s ToM ability.

Previous studies have supported the concurrent validity of associations between both the SS and SF tasks and so they appear to be valid measurements of the same construct (ToM) (eg Hughes et al., 2000, 2014). Furthermore, past studies have supported the aggregative loading of both tasks onto a single variable (eg Devine & Hughes, 2013). Similar to Devine and Hughes (2013), we combined the two ToM scores (SF and SS) to generate a single ToM score (SS + SF = ToM)(α = .50), with an inter-correlation of (ToM- SS r = .340, p = .004).

Perceptions of academic and job competence

Participants perceived competencies in both academic and job domains were assessed using the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents (SPPA) (Harter, 2012). The SPPA is a commonly used measure of adolescent’s self-concept that has been implemented by clinicians and researchers to evaluate self-worth in individuals from a range of populations (Harter, 2012; Muris et al., 2003). The original scale involved a series of 45 items assessing self-competence across eight domains: athletic competence, physical appearance, social acceptance, close friendship, romantic appeal, behavioral conduct, job competence, and scholastic competence.

The present study used two subscales of the SPPA: scholastic competence and job competence. Each subscale consisted of five pairs of contrasting statements (eg ‘Some teenagers do very well at their classwork BUT other teenagers don’t do very well at their classwork’) to which participants were asked to indicate which was most true for them, before deciding if the statement was ‘sort of true’ or ‘really true.’ Scores for each question ranged from 1 to 4, half of which were reversed to avoid acquiescence in responses. Scores for the five questions were totaled so that higher scores indicated greater self-perceived competence in that domain.

Results

Descriptive statistics

Data analysis was Performed using IBM SPSS for Mac version 28. Firstly, measures of central tendency and skewness statistics were calculated to check variables for normal distribution. Whilst most variables were approximately normally distributed, tests of normality identified highly negative skewed distributions for: Happiness with family (−1.261), connection to family (1.036), and total family connection combined score (−1.074). Additionally, moderate negative skews were identified for: quality of relationship with parents (−0.871) and perception of academic competence (−0.698). Finally, a moderate positive skew was identified for perception of academic competence (0.661).

Due to the nature of the variables in measuring participants unique experiences, no outliers were removed from the analysis. The impact of nonnormal distributions on the Pearson correlations between family relationships, feelings toward solitude and perceptions of academic and job competence will be discussed. Full descriptive results for the study variables, including measures of central tendency and normality are presented in Table 1.

Summary of inter-item reliability and consistency between measures of similar constructs

Feelings toward solitude were measured using three scales: Affinity to solitude (LA_Affinity), aversion to solitude (LA_Aversion) and aloneliness (Sol + Al). As expected, a Pearson’s correlation identified a moderate negative correlation between affinity and aversion to solitude (r= −.413, p < .001). Moreover, a strong positive correlation was identified between affinity for solitude and aloneliness (r = .731, p < .001), supporting the validity of the scales in measuring positive feelings toward solitude. Furthermore, there was a small negative correlation between aloneliness and aversion to solitude (r = −.245, p = .046).

Results showed positive correlations among happiness with family, emotional quality of relationship with parents and connection to family. Specifically, a positive correlation was found between happiness with family and connection to family (r = .583, p < .001), supporting the blending of family measures. Additionally, a positive correlation was found between family connection combined score and quality of relationship with parents (r = .434, p < .001).

Analysis plan for research questions

To investigate associations among the key variables (Adolescents’ feelings toward Solitude, Relationships with their Family, ToM, academic competence, and job competence), Pearson correlations were conducted (see Table 1). This was followed by mediation analysis using linear regression and the Sobel test to assess whether ToM served as a mediator in the predicted indirect relations between family connections and solitude preferences, in addition to family connections and perceptions of academic and job competence.

Q1. Do associations exist among adolescents’ perceived family connections, Theory of Mind and attitudes toward solitude?

Results showed significant correlations between family connections and affinity for solitude (r = .120, p = .011) indicating that adolescents who were happier with their families felt more positively about spending time alone. Marginal correlations were also identified between family connections and aversion to solitude (r = .107, p = .096) and aversion to solitude and aloneliness (r = −.233, p = .057). Moreover, results showed that; Happiness with family but not total family connection (combined) was significantly positively correlated with aversion to solitude (r = .270, p = .028), and negatively correlated with aloneliness (r = −.310, p = .011), suggesting the happier adolescents are with their family, the less they desire to be alone. No significant correlations were identified between quality of relationship with parents and feelings toward solitude. ToM was found to be marginally correlated with happiness with family (r = .216, p = .074), but not total family connection, emotional quality of relationship with parents or feeling toward solitude.

Q2. Do associations exist among adolescents’ family connections, Theory of Mind, solitude preferences, academic and job competence?

Results of the correlational matrix identified a positive correlation between perceptions of academic competence and job competence (r = .369, p = .012), which was expected given the similarity between constructs. Further positive correlations were identified between academic competence and family connection (r = .291, p = .027), and emotional quality of relationship with parents (r = .307, p = .034). Similarly, emotional quality of relationship with parents was also positively correlated with perceived job competence (r = .307, p = .048). ToM was positively correlated with perceived academic competence (r = .273, p = .035), but not job competence. No significant correlations were found between feelings toward solitude and academic or job competence (See Table 1).

Q3. Does Theory of Mind mediate the associations between family connections, feelings toward solitude and academic/job competence?

Contradictory to our predictions, results showed that ToM did not serve as a significant mediator between family variables and self or solitude perceptions. More specifically, ToM failed to mediate relations between family connections and solitude preferences: Affinity (t = 1.315, p = .189), aversion (t= −0.269, p = .788), and aloneliness (t = −0.176, p = .860); or happiness with family and solitude preferences: Affinity (t = 1.315, p = .189), aversion (t = .269, p = .788), aloneliness (t = −0.176, p = .860). Furthermore, results showed no support for ToM mediating the relations between family connections with perceived academic and job competencies: Academic competence (t = 1.047, p = .295), job competence (t = −0.106, p = .916).

Additional analysis of demographic differences

Additional analysis examined demographic differences (Age, Gender (Female/Male), number of siblings, and language spoken at home (eg coded as English/Other). Results showed that age was negatively correlated with family connection (r = −.249, p = .037), as well as perceived academic competence (r = .−.292, p = .024). This result suggests that as adolescents grow older and mature, they perceived themselves as less emotionally close to their family, and less competent in their schoolwork. Gender differences were found for affinity to solitude (r = −.252, p = .042) (Girls (M = 35.57), Boys (M = 31.72) that suggested that girls reported more positive attitudes about spending time alone than boys. No further gender differences were identified.

Within the context of family relationships, a significant negative correlation was found between number of siblings and aloneliness (r = −.239, p = .046), which was supported by a t-test identifying significant differences in aloneliness between ‘only children’ (M = 34.76) and adolescents who had siblings (M = 29.08) (t = 2.078, p = .042). Such results suggest the more siblings an adolescent had, the less they felt the desire to spend time alone.

Qualitative analysis

To understand which factors contributed to adolescents’ happiness with their family, written explanations to PWI (‘How happy are you with your family?’) were analyzed qualitatively into their thematic contents, and then quantitively into frequency counts for each theme (see Table 2). To explore differences in themes discussed by individuals who were either happy or not happy, the responses were divided into three groups based on the numerical score provided for the PWI scale: Not happy with their family (rating 1–4), Neutral feelings toward their family (rating 5–7), Happy with their family (rating 8–10).

Table 2. Thematic content of written explanations for ‘how happy are you with your family’? (N = 73).

Theme:	Frequency count	Not happy	Neither happy nor sad	Happy
N	73	6	16	51
Confrontation/disputes	7/73 (9.6%)	3	2	2
Judgment/comparison to others	4/73 (5.5%)	1	2	1
Relationship changing over time	2/73 (2.7%)	0	2	0
Wanting solitude	2/73 (2.7%)	1	1	0
Physical distance as a barrier	2/73 (2.7%)	1	1	0
Siblings	4/73 (5.5%)	1	1	2
Pets	2/73 (2.7%)	0	0	2
Support	8/73 (11.0%)	0	0	8
Feeling/knowing you are loved	9/73 (12.3%)	0	1	8
Feeling safe/comfortable	4/73 (5.5%)	0	1	3
Source of happiness/fun	6/73 (8.2%)	0	1	5
Unconditional love/accepting flaws	6/73 (8.2%)	0	0	6
Provision of resources	3/73 (4.1%)	0	1	2

Overall, the majority of youth reported they were happy with their family (51/73 = 70%), whereas (16/73 = 22%) were neither happy nor sad, and (6/73 = 8%) were not happy with their family. Written responses appeared to be of equivalent length and detail across all groups, however, common themes discussed did vary between groups. Within the not-happy family group, the participants often described themes of desiring solitude and wanting more time alone, (eg A 14-year-old girl stated that ‘I wish I had more alone time, and I feel judged a lot’). Another common theme in this group was parental judgment and comparison to peers or siblings (eg ‘I hate when they compare me to my classmates’ ppt: 90). Furthermore, analysis of potential implications of each theme are explored in the discussion.

For the neither happy nor sad or ambivalent family group, participants reported feeling neither happy nor sad about their families, the most frequent topics included changes to the relationships over time, from childhood now into adolescence (eg ‘Not how it was when I was little’ (14-year-old female), confrontation/disputes and disputes, and a lack of equality between family members (eg ‘there has been few arguments going on with my family. I wish sometimes we can just be treated equally’ (12 year-old male)).

Finally, the happy with family group (scores 8–10), frequently discussed families as a source of support and unconditional love (eg a 13 year-old girl stated ‘I have a loving, supportive, and encouraging family, always pushing me in a good way to do my best’), the idea of unconditional love was developed by responses acknowledging and accepting imperfections (eg ‘I love my family and despite our disagreements, they love me’ (16-year-old female). The final topic that was discussed by a large proportion of this group was families being a source of happiness and fun (eg ‘So happy they are so fun, and I love them so much’ (12-year-old female).

Discussion

The goal of the current investigation was to examine associations between adolescents’ connections to their families, feelings toward solitude, self-perceptions of academic and job competence, and ToM. Whilst past research has found direct correlations between similar factors, the current study took a more integrated approach considering the interplay of relationships between individual influences. It is believed that such understanding will be beneficial to understanding how to best support adolescents from a range of backgrounds to maintain positive mental health and employment outcomes. The main findings will be discussed below in terms of past research and implications for future research and practice.

Previous investigation have predominantly focused on parent-child relationships, yet the role of family dynamics and sibling influence has been gaining more recent scientific attention (Feinberg et al., 2012). Following this, the present study looked at relationships with parents in addition to whole family connections. As expected, the results highlight a significant association between adolescents’ relationships with their parents and connectedness to families, supporting the theoretical similarity between constructs and potentially validating the generalization of previous parent-focused findings to include whole-family relationships. Furthermore, ratings of family connections declined with age, a trend that followed patterns previously identified in research focused on parent-adolescent relationships (eg Buhrmester, 1996). An additional similarity between the present study and previous literature was the finding that girls felt more affinitive of solitude than boys, a suggestion that has received mixed conclusions in past research (eg Buhrmester, 1996; Coplan et al., 2021; Jefferson et al., 2023; Marcoen et al., 1987).

The current results show that family connections were strongly associated with adolescents’ feelings about solitude, indicating that adolescents who were more connected to their families embraced solitude positively but felt less desire to be alone. This supports previous findings which demonstrate reduced loneliness in children with more positive parent-child attachments (Vowels et al., 2023). At the same time, individuals reporting more positive family connections also experienced less aloneliness. In other words, these adolescents felt less desire to be alone and reported more positive feelings toward solitude. Such results may suggest that youth with strong family connections are more capable of finding a balance between social and alone time, or perhaps are more able to maintain stable emotional experiences in conditions of solitude or socialization.

Experiences of reduced aloneliness were further illustrated by participants’ written statements that described how happy they were with their families and the reasons why. Thematic content analysis of these descriptions identified a reoccurring theme of fun, play and happiness within the responses that rated high levels of happiness with their family. The concept of fun highlights a potential reason for these high ratings for happiness with family and may also help to explain the association between family happiness and reduced desire to be alone (aloneliness).

The presence of siblings in families was also found to influence solitude preferences, results identified that ‘only children’ scored significantly higher in aloneliness than individuals who had siblings. Furthermore, a negative relationship was identified between the number of siblings and aloneliness, suggesting that the more siblings present in a family, the less an adolescent desires time alone. Whilst not yet empirically tested, we suggest that in line with the previous suggestion, the presence of more siblings may result in greater levels of fun, and thus lead to greater ratings of family connections and reduced experiences of loneliness. Another theoretical explanation for this may involve viewing Aloneliness as a measure of sociability, in which past empirical studies have identified significant differences in aloneliness (desire to be alone) between only children and those with siblings (eg Feinberg et al., 2012). Future investigation surrounding the mechanisms by which siblings influence solitude preferences is required, especially given the limited literature on siblings and youth development (Kramer et al., 2019). Such future investigation into the role of siblings on adolescents’ experiences with loneliness and periods of solitude will apply to the development of preventative strategies to reduce loneliness.

Another key finding from our study was the positive association between family connections and perceived work competence, highlighting the role of positive family dynamics on adolescents’ self-worth in academic and job settings. Such findings support and develop previous studies that have identified positive relationships between strong parent-child relationships and academic outcomes/achievements as measured through teacher reports (eg van Tetering et al., 2021). This finding expands upon prior literature, suggesting that whole family relationships play a role, not just exclusively parents, as investigated previously.

In contrast to studies with school-aged children that mainly explore children’s perceptions of academic competence, the current study identified associations between positive family connections and positive perceptions of job competence, highlighting the importance of family support for adolescents transitioning from education to employment settings. Furthermore, the correlations identified between family connection with both academic and job competencies were exactly identical, further highlighting the continued importance of family support over time. Such suggestions may have practical relevance for parenting practices in adolescents such as encouraging skill development, open communication, and balancing independence with professional guidance.

Another novel finding from the current study was adolescents’ explanations of their family connections and happiness. For example, within the group of participants who were happy with their families, frequent themes in these explanations included the acceptance of flaws and imperfections; This may be associated with and offer a potential explanation for the relationship between family happiness and greater work competence, for example, previous studies have identified links between traits of perfectionism and academic confidence (Endleman et al., 2022). Furthermore, within the group of individuals feeling the least happy with their families, participants described the presence of parental judgment and comparison, both to siblings and peers, which has also previously been associated with reduced self-worth (Krauss et al., 2020).

The final primary variable explored in this study was ToM referring to adolescent’s mental state understanding. Previous studies have identified positive relationships between ToM and academic achievement in young children (Binnie, 2005; Smogorzewska et al., 2024). Expanding on this, the current study identified a similar relationship between ToM and academic competence in an adolescent population. However, as a result of the self-report measure, it is unclear whether this finding relates to increased academic ability or simply increased self-worth around one’s work. Further investigation is required to confirm the precise reason for increased perceptions of academic competence as developing the literature on the impacts of mentalization on adolescents’ work competence is believed to be important in understanding how to best support adolescents during significant life transitions, both into adulthood and professional environments.

In contrast to our predictions, no significant associations were found between participants’ ToM ability and perceived job competence. A possible explanation for ToM proficiency being related to perceived academic but not job competence may be that mentalizing skills such as ToM are thought to be applied to the understanding and application of learned representations to new concepts and problems (Wellman, 2017; Weimer et al., 2021). Furthermore, school often involves group-work and peer discussion which may strongly relate to mentalizing; Whilst conversing with colleagues and team problem-solving can also take place in the workplace, it may be less prominent in the types of roles fulfilled by adolescents at this age, eg working as a waitress. To this extent, ToM and the ability to mentalize about other people’s perspectives and emotions may play a larger role in an adolescent’s academic experiences where they are frequently presented with new concepts and group-work compared to the tasks they currently experience in employed work—especially during adolescence when after-school work and part-time jobs can vary in different ways (Mortimer, 2010). Such diverse work-related experiences of youth call for the need for future research to explore the links between adolescents’ ToM skills and adolescents’ work or job-related experiences outside of school.

Moreover, previous literature on ToM in adolescence has shown that youth with a deeper understanding of others’ emotional perspectives, report closer connections with their parents (Branje, 2018). Following this, in contrast to our predictions, no significant relationship were found between ToM scores and either connections with family or parents. Given the small sample size and limited diversity of the current adolescent population, future investigation using a larger sample is needed to confirm this finding. To the same extent, the present study predicted to find that ToM served as a mediator between adolescents’ perceived relationship with parents and feelings toward solitude, however, no such mediation was identified in the present analysis.

Implications, limitations, and future directions

The current findings offer an important contribution to the existing scientific literature on adolescent development, in particular experiences with solitude and the importance of positive family connections. The conclusions drawn from the results develop previous understanding of parent-child attachments by highlighting the role of the whole family dynamic and the importance of continued parental support throughout education and into employment contexts. Furthermore, by identifying differences between individuals who feel more affinitive/aversive feelings toward solitude and various desires to be alone, it is intended that the present findings offer a means of identifying adolescents most at risk of loneliness and its negative consequences. Such identification may be beneficial for implementing targeted interventions for individuals with weaker family connections. Such insight may be beneficial both within home and educational settings to promote adolescents’ mental well-being and work attainment.

Given that this study is the first to explore associations between adolescents’ perceptions of their family relationships and work competence, the current findings may highlight avenues for further research into the role of individual family experiences on education and employability outcomes in which predictions have previously relied on external judgments from teachers or parents. Furthermore, unlike previous studies that have addressed direct relationships, the present use of a more comprehensive inter-correlational approach may be more applicable to adolescent development outcomes that do not occur in a vacuum of one-size-fits-all. Moreover, the present study expanded previous literature addressing parent-child or single-child families to highlight the important influence of siblings on developmental outcomes. Future studies should examine this relationship, focusing on the mechanisms by which this sibling influence occurs.

Despite these strengths, this study was not without limitations. For example, the present analysis involved a small, self-selected community sample of adolescents from Ontario Canada, most of whom were from English-speaking backgrounds. Therefore, the results may not be generalizable to a larger and more diverse population and self-selecting bias cannot be ruled out. To the same extent, given that the current analysis focused on family connections and solitude preferences it seems reasonable to highlight the potential influence of predominantly individualist backgrounds. Future investigation is required to understand how family connections in more collectivistic cultures may be associated with solitude preferences and work competence. Another area for future empirical investigation is to explore these associations within more diverse family structures such as single parents, separated parents and legal guardians. Such developments are imperative given that in recent decades children’s experiences with more diverse family types have become increasingly common (Cherlin, 2010; Pearce et al., 2018).

To a similar extent, the present study differentiates itself from past literature through the novel insight into whole family connections, yet it is acknowledged that parent-child relationships may play a varying yet significant role in many of the child’s family perceptions, especially for only children whereby parents may be their only close relative. However, given the explicit use of the word ‘family’ and further insight into the role of siblings, this limitation is not thought to interfere with the credibility of the present claims.

Methodologically, whilst the current study employed the use of well-established and widely used empirical measurement scales, it is important to acknowledge the low alpha reliability for summated ToM score, potentially questioning the validity of this total score as a singular measure of mentalization. Given the substantial body of research support for the aggregation of SF and SS, the total score was used in the analysis. However, it thus remains unclear if this limitation contributed to the differences identified for associations with ToM compared to those identified and suggested by existing research. Further investigation is needed to draw more reliable conclusions.

Further methodological consideration is also required for the potential impact of nonnormal distributions for items used in the Pearson correlation. In particular, family connections was highly negatively skewed, relationships with parents and academic competence was mildly negatively skewed, whilst job competence was mildly positively skewed. A potential explanation for such distributions is the effects of social desirability and lack of experience with employment. Given the nature of these variables as indicators of adolescents’ unique perspectives and expected differences, the decision was made not to remove extreme scores before conducting the analysis. Although such distributions may have inflated the rate of type I errors and reduce the statistical power of the analysis, given the majority of variables were normally distributed, the present results included parametric correlations, which were chosen for their power to detect significant relationships within a small sample size.

In conclusion, this correlational study provides a comprehensive approach to understanding the inter-relations among adolescents’ family connections, solitude preferences, academic and job competence, and ToM. The present study furthered the discourse on adolescent research by providing novel insights into adolescents’ whole family connections, how happy they feel about their family and how this may relate to adolescents’ social reasoning skills, work competence, and solitude preferences. The results showed that ToM and academic competence were inter-related, yet ToM and job competence were not. Further research would be beneficial to confirm this finding with a range of job competence measures, and to explore reasons why mentalization skills relate to adolescents academic but perhaps not job competence. For example, future studies could explore how ToM related to adolescents’ varied experiences with different types of after-school jobs such as those in the service industry working FtF with people compared to those jobs that are more solitary and computer-based with little opportunity for face-to-face (FtF) engagement. The present findings also suggest a need for more studies on the ‘voices’ of youth in terms of how they feel about their families, their need for solitude/feelings of loneliness, and work competence. The results may also assist in the development of effective targeted interventions to support adolescents’ well-being, including the identification of positive prevention factors such as strong connections with families and learning how to enjoy periods of solitude.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Maria Coccimilglio, Meghan Maynard, Valentina Sitnik, Jessica Yaguchi, and Rakha Zabin for their help with data collection, preparation and coding. The authors are very grateful to all the children, parents, and school staff for participating in our research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The article will be published as open access (OA) through the Read & Publish Transitional Agreement between the University of Exeter with Taylor & Francis.

Notes on contributors

Megan Jones

Megan Jones is a Clinical Psychology (Msci) student at the University of Exeter.

Sandra Bosacki

Sandra Bosacki is a Professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Brock University. Her area of expertise is social cognition and mental health in youth and adolescence.

Victoria Talwar

Victoria Talwar is a Professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology AT McGill University. Her area of expertise is in social cognition and deception in children and youth.