Test Your Attachment Style: Are You the Dependent or Independent Type

I. What Is Attachment Style?

Attachment style comes from attachment theory, proposed by developmental psychologist John Bowlby and further verified by Mary Ainsworth through the 'Strange Situation' experiment. It describes a person's stable behavioral patterns and emotional tendencies regarding 'security, closeness, and independence' in intimate relationships.

Attachment style is not set in stone; it is shaped by early caregiving experiences, significant relationship experiences, and self-awareness. In adult intimate relationships, attachment style is mainly reflected in:

• How you view the balance between 'closeness' and 'distance'
• How you react when your partner is not around or is emotionally unstable
• Whether you find it easy to trust others, or tend to protect yourself
• Whether you move closer to communicate or avoid and withdraw when conflict arises

II. The Main Types of Attachment Styles

Based on classic attachment theory and adult attachment research, common attachment styles can be divided into four types:

• Secure: You can both enjoy intimacy and maintain independence; you trust your partner and are emotionally stable.
• Anxious: You long for intimacy but fear being abandoned, easily focus too much on the relationship, and have fairly large emotional swings.
• Avoidant: You value independence and autonomy, feel uncomfortable with intimacy, and tend to suppress your emotional needs.
• Disorganized: You swing between closeness and avoidance, feeling both a strong longing and fear, with inconsistent behavior.

This test does not use simple labels, but instead judges which pattern you lean toward through a combination of multiple dimensions.

3. The Five Assessment Dimensions of This Test

The test has 20 questions in total, designed around the following five core dimensions:

• Intimacy Comfort: Can you naturally accept others' care and closeness?
• Separation Anxiety: When your partner is away or replies more slowly, do you easily become uneasy?
• Degree of Self-Reliance: Are you more used to solving problems yourself, or are you willing to seek support?
• Trust and Suspicion: Do you easily trust your partner, or do you confirm again and again?
• Conflict-Coping Style: When a conflict arises, do you take the initiative to communicate, or choose to avoid it?

4. Purpose and Target Audience of the Test

This test is suitable for people who want to gain a deeper understanding of their behavioral patterns in intimate relationships, especially:

• People who are dating or married and want to improve the quality of their relationship
• People who often worry about gains and losses in a relationship
• People who feel repressed in intimate relationships and find it hard to express their needs
• Learners who are interested in psychology and attachment theory

V. Scoring and Result Explanation

Each question is scored 1-5, from 'strongly disagree' to 'strongly agree.' The system will calculate your scores across the five dimensions and, together with your overall tendencies, give you your current attachment style type and targeted relationship advice.