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Nonattachment Scale (NAS)

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Handbook of Assessment in Mindfulness Research

Abstract

Nonattachment is defined as a flexible and balanced way of relating to one’s experiences without clinging to or suppressing them. Nonattachment has a long history in Buddhist writings and has recently emerged in modern psychological research. The growing popularity of nonattachment can be attributed, in part, to the development of an empirical scale to measure it. The Nonattachment Scale, created by Sahdra and colleagues in 2010, is a 30-item scale designed to measure nonattachment as it might manifest in one’s everyday life. Nine experts belonging to three major Buddhist traditions reviewed 135 candidate nonattachment items in terms of fit with their understanding of nonattachment. Seventy-five items received consistently high ratings across the different traditions and were used in all subsequent scale reduction analyses. The resulting 30-item nonattachment measure has been found to be reliable and has good criterion and discriminant validity. The Nonattachment Scale has also been translated into Spanish and Chinese for use with non-English speaking populations. In addition, two short forms of the Nonattachment Scale have been developed: the NAS-SF and the NAS-7 (8 and 7 items, respectively). Their validation and psychometric properties are discussed, and a brief comparison of the scales is provided. This chapter also provides details of how to use the Nonattachment Scale in research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Emma K. Devine, Joseph Ciarrochi & Baljinder K. Sahdra

  2. The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Emma K. Devine

  3. Swinburne University, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia

    Bradley Elphinstone

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  1. Emma K. Devine
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  2. Bradley Elphinstone
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  3. Joseph Ciarrochi
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  4. Baljinder K. Sahdra
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Correspondence to Baljinder K. Sahdra .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Oleg N. Medvedev

  2. North Shore Campus, Auckland Univ of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Christian U. Krägeloh

  3. Dept of Psychology and Neuroscience, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Richard J. Siegert

  4. Augusta University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Nirbhay N. Singh

Appendices

Appendix 1

The Nonattachment Scale

To help us understand your general approach to life and your views about yourself, others, and life in general, tell us the extent to which the following statements reflect your experiences at this point in your life. Select a number from 1 to 6 on the scale provided with each statement to rate the extent to which you agree with it. Please answer according to what really reflects your experience rather than what you think your experience should be.

figure a

Appendix 2

The NAS-SF

To help us understand your general approach to life and your views about yourself, others, and life in general, tell us the extent to which the following statements reflect your experiences at this point in your life. Select a number from 1 to 6 on the scale provided with each statement to rate the extent to which you agree with it. Please answer according to what really reflects your experience rather than what you think your experience should be.

figure b

Appendix 3

The NAS-7

To help us understand your general approach to life and your views about yourself, others, and life in general, tell us the extent to which the following statements reflect your experiences at this point in your life. Select a number from 1 to 6 on the scale provided with each statement to rate the extent to which you agree with it. Please answer according to what really reflects your experience rather than what you think your experience should be.

figure c

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Devine, E.K., Elphinstone, B., Ciarrochi, J., Sahdra, B.K. (2022). Nonattachment Scale (NAS). In: Medvedev, O.N., Krägeloh, C.U., Siegert, R.J., Singh, N.N. (eds) Handbook of Assessment in Mindfulness Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77644-2_38-1

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