What is your attachment style?

Attachment theory began with John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, who studied how the bond between children and their caregivers shapes a sense of safety. In the late 1980s, Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver showed that adults bring similar patterns into romantic relationships, and Kim Bartholomew described adult attachment along two underlying dimensions.

Two dimensions: anxiety and avoidance

Attachment anxiety reflects how much you worry about being rejected or abandoned and how much reassurance you need. Attachment avoidance reflects how comfortable you are with intimacy and with depending on others. Where you fall on each axis points to one of four styles:

Secure – low anxiety, low avoidance
Anxious-Preoccupied – high anxiety, low avoidance
Dismissive-Avoidant – low anxiety, high avoidance
Fearful-Avoidant – high anxiety, high avoidance

How the test works

You will rate 28 statements about partners, close friends and family on a five-point agreement scale. It takes about 8 minutes. Answer based on how you usually feel and act, not how you think you should.

What you get

Your result names your leaning on each dimension and your overall attachment style, with a portrait of how it shows up in relationships, its strengths and common struggles, practical steps that help, and tips for partners who share the style.

An honest note: this is a self-reflection tool, not a clinical assessment or diagnosis. Attachment styles are tendencies rather than fixed labels, and they can change over time through supportive relationships, self-awareness and, for some people, therapy.