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Avoidant Attachment Scale

Do you find yourself uncomfortable with emotional closeness? Take this test to find out if you have an 'avoidant attachment style.'

Mark Travers, Ph.D.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D.

November 26, 2024

Mark Travers, Ph.D., is the lead psychologist at Awake Therapy, responsible for new client intake and placement. Mark received his B.A. in psychology, magna cum laude, from Cornell University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder. His academic research has been published in leading psychology journals and has been featured in The New York Times and The New Yorker, among other popular publications. He is a regular contributor for Forbes and Psychology Today, where he writes about psycho-educational topics such as happiness, relationships, personality, and life meaning. Click here to schedule an initial consultation with Mark or another member of the Awake Therapy team. Or, you can drop him a note here.

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Romantic attachment is the emotional bond individuals form with romantic partners, rooted in early life experiences with caregivers and influenced by patterns of trust, closeness and security. An avoidant attachment style develops when caregivers are distant, dismissive or unresponsive—leading to a preference for independence and discomfort with emotional intimacy in adult relationships.

This attachment style can affect relationships by creating barriers to emotional closeness, difficulty expressing feelings and a tendency to withdraw when faced with conflict or vulnerability. In turn, this often results in both partners feeling unfulfilled or distant.

The Revised Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR-R) self-report measure is a highly reliable tool for assessing romantic attachment styles—including avoidant attachment. Its robust psychometric properties, such as high test-retest reliability and validity, make it an effective method for identifying attachment avoidance.

You can take this test here. Please follow all of the steps to receive your results.

References: Wei, M., Russell, D. W., Mallinckrodt, B., & Vogel, D. L. (2007). The experiences in close relationship scale (ECR)-short form: Reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 88(2), 187–204.

Step 1: Rate the following statements based on how much you agree with them on a scale of strongly disagree to strongly agree.

1. I prefer not to turn to my romantic partner in times of need.

2. I pull back when I feel the desire to get close to my partner.

3. I avoid turning to my partner for comfort and reassurance.

4. I try to keep a certain distance from my partner.

5. I avoid discussing my problems and concerns with my partner.

6. I feel uncomfortable when partners get too close to me.

0 of 0 questions answered

Step 2: Enter your age, gender, region, and first name so we can provide you with a detailed report that compares your test scores with people similar to you.

What is your age?

What is your gender?

What region of the world do you live in?

What is your first name?

Step 3: Check to make sure you've provided answers to all of the statements/questions above. Once you've done that, click the button below to send your responses to Awake Therapy's Lead Psychologist, Mark Travers, Ph.D. He will provide you with an overview of how you scored relative to others (all answers are anonymized and confidential to protect users' privacy). He can also answer any follow-up questions you may have.