Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised
ECR-RPermission: Free for research use. Free for non-commercial academic research, with no licence fee. Cite the original publication.
A 36-item measure of adult romantic attachment along two continuous dimensions (attachment-related anxiety and avoidance), refined using item response theory.
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Reliability & validation
Subscales
Scoring
- Attachment Anxiety
- Mean of items 1–18
- Attachment Avoidance
- Mean of items 19–36
- Score range
- 1–7
- Reverse-keyed items
- 9, 11, 20, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36 (score as 8 − response)
Score the two dimensions separately; higher scores mean more anxiety or more avoidance.
Response anchors
Strongly disagree · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · Strongly agree
Known limitations
Dimensional rather than categorical (it does not assign attachment "styles"), and worded for people currently in, or reflecting on, romantic relationships.
Original citation
Fraley, R. C., Waller, N. G., & Brennan, K. A. (2000). An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(2), 350-365.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.78.2.350Questions researchers ask
What does the ECR-R measure?
A 36-item measure of adult romantic attachment along two continuous dimensions (attachment-related anxiety and avoidance), refined using item response theory.
How many items does the ECR-R have?
The Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) has 36 items across 2 subscales: Attachment Anxiety, Attachment Avoidance.
Is the ECR-R free to use?
The ECR-R is free to use for non-commercial academic research. You don't need to pay a license fee, but you should always cite the original publication.
Who developed the ECR-R, and how do I cite it?
Fraley, R. C., Waller, N. G., & Brennan, K. A. (2000). An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(2), 350-365. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.78.2.350
How do you score the ECR-R?
Attachment Anxiety: Mean of items 1–18. Attachment Avoidance: Mean of items 19–36. Score range 1–7. Reverse-keyed items: 9, 11, 20, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36 (score as 8 − response).
Related scales
Library entry verified September 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.