The four attachment styles
Adult attachment style describes how a person experiences closeness and separation in relationships, measured on two independent dimensions: attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance. This test administers the Experiences in Close Relationships–Revised (ECR-R), a thirty-six item research scale, and locates you in one of four regions: secure, anxious-preoccupied, dismissive-avoidant, or fearful-avoidant.
Adult attachment is described by two dimensions — anxiety (fear of abandonment) and avoidance (discomfort with closeness). Where you fall on each produces one of four styles:
Secure
You're comfortable with both closeness and independence. You can trust, lean on others, and be leaned on, without losing yourself — and you tend to communicate needs directly.
Anxious–Preoccupied
You crave closeness and attune deeply to others, but you can worry about a partner's love and fear abandonment. Reassurance feels good; uncertainty feels loud.
Dismissing–Avoidant
You value independence and self-reliance and stay composed under emotional pressure — but you may keep distance, downplay needs, and find depending on others uncomfortable.
Fearful–Avoidant
You want closeness and fear it at the same time — drawn to connection but wary of getting hurt. Relationships can feel like an approach-avoid push and pull.
About this test
This test uses the Experiences in Close Relationships–Revised (ECR-R; Fraley, Waller & Brennan, 2000) — one of the most widely used and well-validated measures of adult attachment in psychological research, with strong internal consistency on both subscales. Your attachment style isn't fixed: with safe relationships and self-awareness, people move toward security over time. This is a tool for reflection, not a clinical diagnosis.