Attachment Style Quiz

Based on attachment theory, peoples’ bond with childhood caregivers lays the foundation for how they relate to future relationships—also known as their attachment style. There are four main attachment styles: anxious, avoidant, dismissive, and secure. Take this quiz to learn yours.

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Disclaimer:

This quiz is not a diagnostic tool or substitute for professional mental health advice. It is not meant to imply the prevalence of any mental or physical health issue(s).

It is common for an individual to fall into more than one attachment style category, though most people tend to have one predominant style.

A person’s attachment style may change over time. This quiz is meant to help establish where you currently lie along the spectrum of attachment styles.

Who is this attachment style quiz for? 

This attachment style quiz is designed for anyone who wants to know what their attachment style is and how it affects their relationships, including romantic relationships, friendships, and relationships with family. Knowing your attachment style can help you understand how you relate to your partner, friends, co-workers, siblings, parents, and more. 

Answering this short, 12-question attachment style quiz will help establish which attachment style you most closely align with. However, this quiz isn’t a diagnostic tool and doesn’t replace advice from a licensed mental health provider. After taking this quiz, it may be helpful to talk with a mental health professional who can help explain the cause of your attachment style and provide you with tools to manage it effectively. 

What are the four attachement styles?

Anxious attachment style

You really care about your relationships and sometimes worry about them falling apart. This worry comes from your fear of rejection and doubts about whether you’re deserving of love. You probably need constant reassurance from your romantic partners, feel sensitive when friends are unable to show up for you, and tend to overanalyze your interactions with co-workers and peers. 

Secure attachment style

You trust yourself and others in relationships; you do your best to show up for others and believe that they will do the same for you. You probably are comfortable with intimacy with your romantic partners, have mutually satisfying connections with friends, and can maintain appropriate boundaries in relationships with co-workers and peers. Just like anyone else, you may have moments of self-doubt and relationship conflict, but you handle these difficulties with open and honest communication and respectful boundary setting.

Dismissive attachment style

You tend to keep those in your life at arm’s length and view dependence in relationships as a weakness. This may stem from your desire to be independent and your worry about being let down by others. You probably avoid emotional vulnerability with your romantic partners, struggle to accept and offer emotional support from friends, and share very little with co-workers and peers beyond work- or school-related matters.

Avoidant attachment style

You want to have close relationships but are worried about people letting you down or hurting you. This worry stems from past relationships or childhood experiences and doubts about whether you’re deserving of love. You probably struggle with opening up to romantic partners, question whether your friends like you, and avoid social interactions with co-workers and peers.

How your attachment style indicates the kinds of relationships you’ll have?

Since attachment theory was popularized in the 1960s and 70s, it has been increasingly studied by researchers. One question researchers have repeatedly asked is if peoples’ attachment styles predict the kinds of relationships they’ll have. In short, the answer appears to be yes (in part).

Early research on attachment style found that people with a secure attachment style tend to be more successful in relationships, defined by relationship length and level of intimacy. By contrast, a study from this year analyzing attachment patterns in people who are single and partnered found that single people often had attachment styles that made them feel uncomfortable with intimacy. They also had attachment styles that led them to prioritize relationships less and even avoid relationships altogether—all features often associated with anxious, avoidant, and dismissive attachment styles (the researchers for this study did not define attachment style by category but instead by traits). 

However, researchers have also found that people can change their attachment styles. A 2019 study indicated that people who set goals to become less anxiously- and avoidantly-attached experienced declines in those attachment styles over time. So, while attachment styles may indicate the kinds of relationships people tend to have, it is possible to move toward a more secure attachment style—and, thus, more secure relationships.