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Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised

ECR-R
psychologysocial sciencesFree for research use

A 36-item measure of adult romantic attachment along two continuous dimensions — attachment-related anxiety and avoidance — refined using item response theory.

Items
36
Response format
7-point Likert
Version
1.0
Subscales
2

Ready-to-cite methods sentence

Adult attachment was measured with the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R; Fraley et al., 2000), whose anxiety and avoidance dimensions showed excellent internal consistency (α ≈ .93–.94).

Reliability & validation

Validation population
Adults in romantic relationships (Fraley et al., 2000)
Cronbach's α
0.93–0.94

Subscales

Attachment AnxietyAttachment Avoidance

Response anchors

Strongly disagree · Disagree · Slightly disagree · Neutral · Slightly agree · Agree · Strongly agree

Known limitations

Dimensional rather than categorical — it does not assign attachment "styles" — and is 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/10.1037/0022-3514.78.2.350

Questions 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.

Is the ECR-R reliable?

Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.93–0.94. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.

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

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Library entry verified July 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.