A scale to measure nonattachment: a Buddhist complement to Western research on attachment and adaptive functioning.
The Buddhist notion of "nonattachment" (release from mental fixations) is related to but distinguishable from the Western construct of attachment. Secure (or insecure) attachment is based on internal working models related to security (or insecurity), whereas nonattachment is based on insight into the constructed and impermanent nature of mental representations. Based on historical and contemporary Buddhist scholarship, we designed the Nonattachment Scale and evaluated its psychometric properties in various samples. We also present evidence consistent with Buddhist theory that nonattachment is psychologically and socially adaptive, and we offer directions for further research on nonattachment.
Department of Psychology and Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA 95618, USA. bksahdra@ucdavis.edu
Baljinder Kaur
BK
Sahdra
Phillip R
PR
Shaver
Kirk Warren
KW
Brown
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002016:Buddhism / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D019122:Meditation; D008875:Middle Aged; D009769:Object Attachment; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011581:Psychological Tests / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results