The Role of Nonattachment in the Development of Adolescent Mental Health: a Three-Year Longitudinal Study

Nonattachment involves a flexible way of relating to ideas without clinging to them and is hypothesized to be beneficial to mental health. However, no longitudinal research has examined this hypothesis. We conducted a three-wave longitudinal study to examine the extent that nonattachment was an antecedent to improvements in mental health.

A large sample of students (males = 1162; females = 1186) from 16 high schools completed the Nonattachment Scale (NAS-7) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) over 3 years in Grades 10, 11, and 12.

Nonattachment predicted approximately 4.5% of the variance in mental health measured 1 year later. Supporting an antecedent model, structural equation modeling revealed that nonattachment reliably predicted reductions in poor mental health from Grades 10 to 11 (β = −.091, p = .006) and Grades 11 to 12 (β = −.121, p < .001). The consequence model of poor mental health leading to lower nonattachment was only supported in the Grades 10 to 11(β = −.127, p < .001).

Nonattachment protects against the development of poor mental health. Further research into interventions that enhance nonattachment in youth is warranted.