Anxious-Avoidant Attachment Test — Free Avoidant & Anxious Attachment Test (Adult Attachment Scale)
Are you anxiously attached, avoidantly attached, or securely attached? Test your adult attachment pattern in 4 minutes. Free in the Mindtalk app.
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Swarupa Mohan Udgiri, PhD in Psychiatric Social Work (NIMHANS) M.Phil in Psychiatric Social Work (NIMHANS) Masters in Social Work (Medical & Psychiatry). Last reviewed 2026-09-25.
The three dimensions of adult attachment
The Adult Attachment Scale measures three continuous dimensions:
Closeness — How comfortable you are with closeness and intimacy in relationships. High: comfortable being emotionally close. Low: prefers distance.
Depend — How much you feel you can rely on others being available and dependable. High: trusts partners to be there. Low: doesn't trust others to be available.
Anxiety — How much you worry about being abandoned or unloved. High: intense worry about relationship security. Low: relaxed about relationship security.
The pattern across the three dimensions produces one of four attachment styles.
How the Adult Attachment Scale is scored
The 18 statements split into three groups of six, one for each dimension. You rate each statement by how characteristic it is of you, and each dimension score summarises its six items. Higher Closeness and Depend scores mean more comfort with intimacy and more trust in others. A higher Anxiety score means more worry about being rejected or left.
The style labels below are how the Mindtalk app summarises your pattern. They are not validated clinical cut-offs, and the three scores themselves are the more precise result.
The four styles
| Style | Closeness | Depend | Anxiety | Behavioural pattern |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secure | High | High | Low | Comfortable with closeness AND independence; repairs after conflict |
| Anxious-preoccupied | High/mixed | Low/mixed | High | Craves closeness, fears abandonment, pursues under stress |
| Dismissive-avoidant | Low | Low | Low | Values independence, discomfort with closeness, withdraws under stress |
| Fearful-avoidant / Disorganised | Low | Low | High | Wants closeness but fears it, oscillates; often trauma-linked |
The Anxious-Avoidant trap
The most common and most conflict-prone relationship pairing:
- Anxious partner feels distress → seeks reassurance and closeness
- Avoidant partner feels the increased demand → withdraws for space
- Anxious partner interprets withdrawal as abandonment → pursues harder
- Avoidant partner feels engulfed → withdraws further
Each partner's coping strategy is the other's core trigger. The cycle can escalate over years without either partner understanding the underlying pattern.
The good news: highly treatable when both partners engage. Even one partner's individual work changes the dynamic meaningfully.
When to see a specialist
- Recurring pursue-withdraw cycles you can identify but not change
- Intense fear of abandonment or intense discomfort with closeness
- Trauma-linked attachment patterns (Fearful-avoidant / Disorganised)
- Relationship-driven anxiety or depression
- Repeated partner selection patterns (drawn to unavailable people, or pushing available people away)
Our guide to relationship issues covers common patterns and when professional help makes sense.
Mindtalk's relationship-specialised clinical psychologists work individually or with couples across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mysore, and online for anywhere in India.
Treatments backed by evidence
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) — Sue Johnson's couples therapy protocol. Strongest evidence base for attachment-focused couples work.
Attachment-based CBT — Individual therapy targeting attachment cognitions and behaviours.
Schema Therapy — Deeper cognitive work on early attachment-related schemas.
Mentalisation-Based Therapy — Building capacity to reflect on own and others' mental states in attachment context.
After the test
- Pair with Boundaries Quiz. Take the Boundaries Quiz — boundary and attachment interact.
- Pair with Toxic Relationship Test. Take the Toxic Relationship Test if patterns of harm are present.
- If Fearful-avoidant / Disorganised: Take the ITQ trauma screener. Trauma work usually needs to happen first or alongside attachment work.
- Structured programme. The 90-day Relationship Healing programme is calibrated for attachment work.
- Book a specialist. Mindtalk's relationship specialists across India.
Validation and evidence
Nancy Collins and Stephen Read published the Adult Attachment Scale in 1990, in a study of adult attachment, working models and relationship quality in dating couples. It drew on Hazan and Shaver's 1987 work, which carried infant attachment theory into adult romantic relationships. It measures attachment as continuous dimensions rather than forcing people into one category. In 2000 Fraley, Waller and Brennan ran an item response theory analysis of four common self-report attachment measures in 1,085 people, including this scale and the Experiences in Close Relationships scales. They found that all of them could be measured more precisely. We have not found an Indian validation of the Adult Attachment Scale, so treat your scores as a guide, not a norm-referenced result.
References
- Collins NL, Read SJ. Adult attachment, working models, and relationship quality in dating couples. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1990;58(4):644-663. PubMed
- Hazan C, Shaver P. Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1987;52(3):511-524. PubMed
- Fraley RC, Waller NG, Brennan KA. An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000;78(2):350-365. PubMed
Related reading
- Attachment Style Test — shorter categorical version
- Attachment Styles hub
- Love & Relationships hub
- Relationship Healing 90-day programme
- Mindtalk's relationship specialists across India
How to take the AAS
- 1
Open the Adult Attachment Scale in the Mindtalk app
Tap "Take the Anxious-Avoidant Test" to open the assessment. You will need a free Mindtalk account.
- 2
Answer the 18 items about closeness, dependence, and abandonment fears
For each statement, rate how well it describes you in close relationships generally.
- 3
Get your three-dimension profile and attachment style
Receive scores on Closeness, Depend, and Anxiety, plus your resulting attachment style (Secure / Anxious / Avoidant / Fearful-avoidant), and recommended next steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the three dimensions?
- Closeness — how comfortable you are with closeness and intimacy in relationships. Depend — how much you feel you can rely on others being available and dependable. Anxiety — how much you worry about being abandoned or unloved. High Closeness + high Depend + low Anxiety = Secure. Low Closeness + low Depend = Avoidant (Dismissive-avoidant if low Anxiety too; Fearful-avoidant if high Anxiety). High Anxiety with mixed Closeness / Depend = Anxious-preoccupied.
- How is this different from the Attachment Style Test?
- The Anxious-Avoidant Test uses a published research scale (the Adult Attachment Scale by Collins and Read). It gives continuous scores on three dimensions, Closeness, Depend and Anxiety. The [Attachment Style Test](/assessments/attachment-style-test) is Mindtalk's 20-item quiz, which focuses on placing you in one style. Take this one if you want dimensional detail to bring to therapy.
- What's the Anxious-Avoidant trap?
- The most common and most conflict-prone relationship pairing. When Anxious partner is distressed, they pursue closeness and reassurance. This triggers the Avoidant partner's core discomfort with too-much-closeness, so they withdraw. The withdrawal triggers the Anxious partner's core abandonment fear, so they pursue harder. Each partner's coping strategy is the other's trigger. Highly treatable when both partners engage; even one partner's work changes the dynamic.
- Can attachment style change?
- Yes. "Earned secure" attachment is the shift from insecure to secure through consistent therapy, stable-partner experience, or intentional attachment work. Change is usually measured in months to years, not weeks. Retaking the test every few months while you work on it can show which dimension is moving.
- What treatment works?
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT — Sue Johnson lineage) is the strongest evidence-based couples therapy for attachment work. Attachment-based CBT, schema therapy, and mentalisation-based therapy work individually. For insecure attachment patterns paired with trauma (Fearful-avoidant / Disorganised), trauma-focused work usually needs to happen first or alongside attachment work.
- Am I anxious or avoidant?
- Look at your two key scores. A high Anxiety score (worry about rejection or abandonment) points to anxious attachment. Low Closeness and low Depend scores (discomfort with intimacy and relying on others) point to avoidant attachment. If both are high, the pattern is fearful-avoidant. Many people show some of each, especially with different partners, so read your result as a profile rather than a label.
- How do I take this test?
- Click "Take the Anxious-Avoidant Test". Complete the 18 items (3-4 minutes), receive your three-dimension profile and attachment style. Free in the Mindtalk app.
Need a clinician's read on your results?
A high score is a signal, not a diagnosis. Mindtalk's psychiatrists and clinical psychologists can interpret your results and recommend next steps — same-day appointments available.