Attachment Style Test (ECR-RS)

What is the ECR-RS?

The Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures (ECR-RS) is a 9-item measure of adult attachment developed by R. Chris Fraley, Marie E. Heffernan, Amanda M. Vicary, and Claudia C. Brumbaugh at the University of Illinois, and published in Psychological Assessment in 2011. It is one of the most widely used modern attachment instruments in research.

What are the four attachment styles?

• Secure: low anxiety, low avoidance. Comfortable with closeness and with independence.
• Anxious (preoccupied): high anxiety, low avoidance. Craves closeness, fears abandonment.
• Dismissive-avoidant: low anxiety, high avoidance. Values independence, uncomfortable with emotional depth.
• Fearful-avoidant (disorganised): high anxiety, high avoidance. Wants closeness but fears it, often associated with earlier relational trauma.

How is this test scored?

You rate 9 statements on a 1 to 7 scale. Items about relying on others are reverse-scored so that higher means more avoidance. Your avoidance score is the mean of the 6 avoidance items, and your anxiety score is the mean of the 3 anxiety items. Each score runs from 1.0 to 7.0. The midpoint of 4.0 is used to split each dimension into low and high, which gives the four-category label. Both the continuous scores and the categorical label are shown on your results page.

Can your attachment style change?

Yes. Research by Fraley and others shows attachment patterns shift with new relationships, life events, therapy, and deliberate self-work. Earned security, where someone moves from an insecure to a secure pattern, is a well-documented outcome.

Is this a diagnosis?

No. Attachment styles are not mental health diagnoses. They are patterns of how you tend to relate to the people closest to you. The ECR-RS is a research-validated self-report measure that gives you a snapshot of your current orientation, not a permanent label and not a clinical assessment.

How accurate is it?

The ECR-RS has strong psychometric properties in published research, with good internal consistency and stability over time. Any self-report is limited by how honestly and how consistently you answer, and by which relationships you have in mind while answering. Think of your score as a reliable but not final snapshot.

What is the difference between attachment style and love language?

Attachment style describes how you relate under stress in close relationships and has decades of academic research behind it. Love languages, popularised by Gary Chapman, describe how you like to give and receive affection. Both are frameworks for understanding yourself in relationships, but attachment is the more rigorously studied.

Can two avoidant partners have a healthy relationship?

It is possible but tends to be fragile. Two people high in avoidance may both withdraw under stress and struggle to repair after conflict. Growth usually requires deliberate practice in direct communication and emotional openness, often supported by therapy.

How do I move toward secure attachment?

Common pathways include therapy with an attachment-informed therapist, spending time in relationships with securely attached people, building self-awareness of your triggers, practicing direct communication about needs and limits, and self-regulation techniques for managing the anxiety or withdrawal impulses that show up under stress.

Is my data stored anywhere?

No. All scoring happens locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your answers are never transmitted to any server, stored in a database, or shared with any third party. Your score is encoded in the URL hash only if you choose to share the link, so you control what leaves your browser. When you close the tab, your answers are gone.