Free Attachment Style Test
Discover If You're Secure, Anxious, Avoidant, or Fearful-Avoidant
Attachment Style Quiz — All 4 Styles Identified
This free attachment style test is built on the foundational research of John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth, and Bartholomew & Horowitz. It identifies your dominant adult attachment pattern across all four styles: Secure, Anxious (Anxious-Preoccupied), Avoidant (Dismissive-Avoidant), and Fearful-Avoidant (Disorganised). Understanding your attachment style is one of the most powerful tools available for improving romantic relationships, friendships, and the relationship you have with yourself.
Secure
Comfortable with closeness and independence
Anxious
Fears abandonment, seeks reassurance
Avoidant
Values independence, uncomfortable with closeness
Fearful-Avoidant
Wants closeness but fears it — the push-pull pattern
✓ Based on attachment theory research (Bowlby, Ainsworth, Bartholomew & Horowitz)
✓ Identifies all 4 adult attachment styles with individual scores
✓ Trusted by therapists and the r/attachment_theory community
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Frequently Asked Questions — Attachment Style Testing
What are the 4 attachment styles in adults?
The four adult attachment styles are: Secure (comfortable with both closeness and independence, approximately 50-55% of adults), Anxious-Preoccupied (craves closeness, fears abandonment, hyperactivated attachment system, approximately 20%), Dismissive-Avoidant (values self-sufficiency, uncomfortable with emotional intimacy, deactivates attachment system, approximately 25%), and Fearful-Avoidant/Disorganised (simultaneously wants and fears closeness, approach-withdrawal pattern, approximately 5%). This free attachment style test identifies which pattern dominates your relational world and gives you individual scores on all four.
How accurate is this free attachment style test?
This test is based on the four-category model developed by Bartholomew and Horowitz, which is the most widely validated framework for adult attachment classification. The questions map directly onto the two underlying dimensions that distinguish attachment styles: anxiety (concern about abandonment and partner availability) and avoidance (discomfort with closeness and dependency). Research supports the validity of this framework across cultures. As with any self-report tool, your honest responses are the primary determinant of accuracy — people who are not yet aware of their own patterns may receive less accurate results initially.
Can I have more than one attachment style?
Yes. Most people have a dominant attachment style but also show elements of others. The score breakdown this test provides reflects your full profile rather than just labelling you with one category. Additionally, attachment patterns can vary somewhat by relationship context — you might be more anxious with romantic partners and more avoidant in friendships, or vice versa. Attachment style can also shift temporarily under stress, grief, or major life transitions.
What is the anxious-avoidant trap?
The anxious-avoidant trap is one of the most common and painful relationship dynamics studied in attachment research. It occurs when an anxiously attached person and a dismissive-avoidant person enter a relationship together. The anxious person's pursuit of closeness triggers the avoidant person's withdrawal, which in turn intensifies the anxious person's pursuit, which deepens the avoidant's withdrawal. Both people feel unmet, but for opposite reasons. Breaking this cycle requires both partners to understand their own attachment patterns and work on them — often with therapeutic support.
How long does it take to change your attachment style?
Significant, lasting change in attachment patterns typically takes one to three years of consistent work — whether through therapy, a consistently safe relationship with a secure partner, or both. However, awareness alone produces meaningful change: simply understanding your attachment pattern reduces the automatic quality of your reactions, because you can see what is happening rather than just being swept along by it. Many people notice real improvements in their relationships within the first few months of focused work.
Is fearful-avoidant attachment the same as BPD?
No, though they share some surface features. Fearful-avoidant attachment is a relational pattern — a way of orienting to intimacy that developed in childhood. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a clinical diagnosis characterised by pervasive instability in mood, self-image, and relationships, intense fear of abandonment, impulsivity, and in many cases self-harm or suicidal behaviour. Many people with BPD do have disorganised attachment, but not everyone with fearful-avoidant attachment has BPD. A qualified mental health professional can clarify the distinction through a thorough assessment.
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