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Free psychological test · Adult attachment
The Attachment Style Test — The Pattern Your Heart Repeats in Love and in Relationships
Secure · Anxious · Avoidant · Fearful — four styles
“Why does my heart collapse whenever a reply is even a little late?” “Why do I want to run away the closer we get?” The other person is different in each relationship, and yet you have probably had the experience of struggling, strangely, in the same spot and in the same way. There is a reason for that repetition.
The attachment style test measures how you connect with the other person, and what you are afraid of, in close relationships, starting with romantic ones. In 20 questions and about 3 minutes you can see whether your attachment pattern is closest to the secure, anxious (preoccupied), avoidant (dismissing) or fearful (disorganized) style.
An attachment style is not a matter of good or bad. It is closer to a way of protecting yourself that you learned naturally in relationships from childhood on. When you know your style, you become able to see the repeating pattern itself differently, instead of blaming the other person or blaming yourself.
Quick sign-up, then start right away · About 3 minutes · 20 questions
The theory behind this test
Attachment theory was established by the British psychiatrist John Bowlby. He held that the emotional bond a child forms with a caregiver — attachment — becomes the underdrawing in the mind (the internal working model) through which later relationships are seen. Then in 1987 the psychologists Hazan and Shaver applied this theory to adult romantic relationships for the first time, and showed that attachment patterns resembling those of childhood also appear in adult love.
In this stream of research, adult attachment came to be understood as divided into the secure style and three insecure styles (anxious, avoidant and fearful), and it has become a framework widely used today in couples counseling and in research on the psychology of relationships. This test is built on this four-style model of adult attachment.
The types you will meet in your result
Secure
This is the style of feeling, within a relationship, that I am OK and the other person can be trusted. Neither getting close nor being apart for a while causes much anxiety, so even when conflict arises you have the strength to work it out by talking. Being secure does not mean you never get hurt, but a hurt seldom spreads into doubt about the whole relationship.
Anxious (preoccupied)
This is the style in which, as much as you pour your heart into the other person, the worry that you will be abandoned or loved less comes up often. You react sensitively to small changes in contact, facial expression and tone of voice, and the wish for reassurance tends to grow. Underneath is an earnest and natural wish: “I want to be loved.”
Avoidant (dismissing)
This is the style of being used to solving things on your own, and of feeling stifled or burdened when a relationship gets too close. You tend to choose distance over talking about feelings, so you are sometimes misunderstood as “cold,” but in fact it is closer to an old way of protecting yourself, so as not to hope and then be disappointed.
Fearful (disorganized)
This is the style in which the wish to get close and the wish not to be hurt are both strong at the same time, so you keep moving closer and then backing away. You want the other person and yet find it hard to trust them, and the relationship can feel like a roller coaster. Often it means you have been through deep hurts in relationships, and simply noticing your own pattern is where change begins.
Who this test is for
- People whose mood for the day depends on the other person’s messages as soon as they start a relationship
- People who want to run away for no reason the closer they get
- People for whom the person they are seeing changes but the reason for breaking up is always much the same
- People who want to be loved and yet end up pushing the other person away when they actually come close
- People who are curious about a partner’s or spouse’s attachment pattern and want to take the test together
Frequently asked questions
Is the test free? Do I need to log in?
Yes, it is free. After a quick sign-up your result is saved, and your attachment style is used automatically in later AI analysis and counseling, so you can get a deeper interpretation.
Once I have a result, is my style fixed for life?
No. An attachment style is not an inborn character. It is a pattern formed within the experience of relationships, so it can change a great deal as experiences of stable relationships and self-understanding build up. Please see the present result as a map that shows “me as I am now.”
Is this test a medical diagnosis?
No. It is not a medical diagnosis. It is a tool that helps self-understanding. Use it as a starting point for noticing your relationship patterns, and if your difficulties are great enough to make everyday life hard, we recommend counseling with a professional as well.