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Attachment Style Assessment

Twelve statements measuring two independent dimensions, anxiety and avoidance, the same two dimensions researchers use to map adult attachment.

This is a short, non-clinical adaptation for self-reflection, built on published attachment research. It is not the original validated instrument and not a diagnostic tool. Attachment patterns are more fluid than any twelve-item test can capture.

12 statements, about 4 minutes, no sign-up

Curious how your style shows up with your partner specifically? Take the real quiz

The four profiles

This test can place you in one of four profiles, not just two. Secure is one of them, and it is the most common outcome in general population research, not a rare exception.

Secure

Low anxiety and low avoidance

You generally feel steady in closeness and do not spend much energy worrying about where you stand. Conflict feels solvable to you, not threatening, and needing your partner does not feel like a weakness you have to hide.

Anxious-Preoccupied

High anxiety, low avoidance

Closeness feels good, and distance, even ordinary, non-personal distance, can quietly set off worry. You tend to notice shifts in your partner's mood or attention fast, sometimes before they are aware anything has shifted at all. Reassurance matters to you more than most people realize until you are not getting enough of it.

Dismissive-Avoidant

Low anxiety, high avoidance

Independence feels safer than intense closeness, especially early on or during conflict. You are not avoiding your partner so much as managing how much intensity feels tolerable at once. Needing space is not rejection, even though it can look that way from the outside.

Fearful-Avoidant

High anxiety and high avoidance

You want closeness and find it unsettling at the same time, which can feel contradictory from the inside. Part of you leans toward your partner for reassurance, part of you pulls back when things get too close, too fast. This combination is well documented in the research and is not a flaw, it usually means both needs deserve attention rather than one canceling out the other.

How the test works

The test shows twelve statements, one at a time, each rated on a five-point scale from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. Six statements measure attachment anxiety: how much you worry about closeness and about your partner being there. Six measure avoidance: how comfortable you are depending on someone and letting them close.

Two statements on each side are worded the other way round, so agreeing with them lowers the score. Each dimension is scored from 6 to 30, with 18 as the midpoint. Above 18 counts as higher, 18 or below as lower.

The two scores are then placed on a grid. Lower anxiety and lower avoidance is Secure. Higher anxiety with lower avoidance is Anxious-Preoccupied. Lower anxiety with higher avoidance is Dismissive-Avoidant. Both higher is Fearful-Avoidant. If either score lands within four points of the midpoint, anywhere from 14 to 22, the profile is marked Mild, because the answers sit too close to the middle to call the pattern settled.

How to read your result

Read the two scores before the label. The four profiles summarise two continuous dimensions, and the numbers carry more detail: an anxiety score of 19 and one of 29 both count as higher, but they describe very different experiences.

A Mild result is a real result, not a failed one. It usually means the pattern shows up in some relationships or some seasons of life rather than everywhere.

The result is not a diagnosis and not a fixed trait. Adult attachment research treats these patterns as tendencies that can shift with experience and with the relationship you are in. The test also only sees how you answered today, so a hard week can move it.

Taking it as a couple

Each of you takes it separately, and then you compare the two scores, not just the labels. A pattern often described in couples is a mismatch on one dimension: when things feel tense, one partner reaches for reassurance and the other reaches for space. Seeing that written down tends to make the next tense moment easier to name.

Nothing links your two results. The share button sends your partner the link to this page, not your profile, so what you compare is what you choose to tell each other.

Then compare your love languages

Where the questions come from

The two-dimension model of adult attachment comes from Brennan, Clark and Shaver (1998), operationalised here as a short adaptation in the spirit of the ECR-R (Fraley, Waller and Brennan, 2000). Anxiety and avoidance are scored independently, and the four categories they produce follow Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991).

Your answers stay in your browser. Nothing you select here is stored or sent anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the ECR-R attachment questionnaire?

No. It is a short adaptation in the spirit of the ECR-R, not the validated questionnaire itself. It uses the same two dimensions, anxiety and avoidance, and the four categories described by Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991).

What are the four attachment styles?

Secure (lower anxiety, lower avoidance), Anxious-Preoccupied (higher anxiety, lower avoidance), Dismissive-Avoidant (lower anxiety, higher avoidance) and Fearful-Avoidant (both higher). This test can also mark any of them as Mild when a score sits near the midpoint.

What does a Mild result mean?

At least one of your two scores is within four points of the midpoint of 18. The lean is real but not strong enough to call settled, so it may show up in some relationships or moods more than in others.

Can your attachment style change?

Yes. Attachment patterns are tendencies rather than fixed traits, they can shift over time, and many people answer differently in different relationships. Twelve statements capture how you see yourself right now, nothing more.

Do I need to sign up, and where do my answers go?

No sign-up and no account. Your answers stay in the page while you take the test and are not stored or sent. Only an anonymous event noting that the test was started and which profile came up is recorded, with no answers attached.

Is this a clinical assessment?

No. It is a non-clinical tool for self-reflection. If worries about closeness are affecting your wellbeing, a licensed therapist can offer a proper assessment and support.