ECR-R Attachment Score

Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR): scoring adult attachment

Brennan, Clark & Shaver (1998) built the Experiences in Close Relationships inventory to put adult attachment into two continuous dimensions you can actually measure. The original questionnaire runs 36 items on a 7-point Likert scale, split 18 items per subscale: Anxiety (fear of rejection/abandonment) and Avoidance (discomfort with closeness/dependence). You usually average the items, Anxiety = mean(items 1, 3, 5, ...) and Avoidance = mean(items 2, 4, 6, ...), flipping any reverse-coded items first.

Those two dimensions line up with the four attachment styles that come out of Bowlby and Ainsworth's work: secure (low anxiety + low avoidance), anxious-preoccupied (high anxiety + low avoidance), dismissing-avoidant (low anxiety + high avoidance), and fearful-avoidant / disorganised (high anxiety + high avoidance). Shiramizu, Natividade & Lopes (2013) validated a Brazilian Portuguese version, finding the same two-factor structure held up with good internal consistency.

Applications

In clinical psychology and couples therapy, clinicians use the ECR to map attachment patterns and steer approaches like Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). It shows up just as often in research on romantic relationships, parenting, social anxiety, and emotion regulation. Disclaimer: this is a screening/research instrument, not a clinical diagnosis. Reading the results properly takes a qualified psychologist.

FAQ

Is the ECR a diagnosis of attachment disorder? No. It captures dimensions of normal adult attachment and won't diagnose Reactive Attachment Disorder or any DSM-5/CID-11 category.

What is the difference between ECR and ECR-R? The ECR-R (Fraley, Waller & Brennan, 2000) is the revised version, with its items reselected through item response theory. Both still measure the same two dimensions.

Can attachment style change? Yes. Attachment tends to be fairly stable, yet it can move through meaningful relationships, therapy, or a big life event. Earned security is a well-documented phenomenon.