Adaptation of the Non-Attachment Scale (NAS-7) and its associations with hope, social connectedness, and life satisfaction

Non-attachment, a construct rooted in Eastern and Buddhist philosophy, describes responding to experiences without clinging to transient thoughts or conditions. This research aimed to adapt the 7-item Non-Attachment Scale (NAS-7) into Turkish and evaluate its psychometric properties. The project consisted of two studies. Study I (N = 404) examined the scale's factor structure using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, assessed item discrimination through Item Response Theory, and evaluated reliability using Cronbach's α, McDonald's ϲ, and Guttmann's λ6; measurement invariance across gender was also tested but not supported. Study II (N = 417) investigated the associations among non-attachment, hope, social connectedness, and life satisfaction using correlation analyses and Structural Equation Modeling. Results indicated that the NAS-7 demonstrated strong model fit, high internal consistency, and robust item discrimination. Additionally, hope and social connectedness simultaneously mediated the link between non-attachment and life satisfaction. Overall, the findings demonstrate that the Turkish NAS-7 is a valid and reliable instrument and that non-attachment contributes to life satisfaction both directly and indirectly, filling an important gap in the literature regarding the assessment of non-attachment in the Turkish context.