Development and validation of the Nonclinging to Ego Scale

Abstract

The purpose of the present research was to develop a scale to measure a Buddhist psychological construct called nonclinging to ego (the tendency to be psychologically free from overidentification with physical appearance, thoughts, and emotions, and to have lower need to satisfy, protect, and enhance self). Using data from Thai university students, we verified the presence of nine theorised factors. The Nonclinging to Ego Scale (NCES) was translated into English to assess its generalisability beyond a Thai‐speaking population. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was used to demonstrate configural and metric invariances of the NCES between Thai‐ and English‐speaking samples. Finally, we assessed the NCES’s concurrent validity with theoretically related constructs: well‐being, nonattachment, narcissism, and ethnocentrism. Results matched theoretical predictions, supporting the NCES’s concurrent validity. These findings support the NCES’s potential utility for research into intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intergroup relations issues and dynamics.