How HalfWay Works
A comprehensive guide to our scientifically-backed attachment assessment system: the published 36-item ECR-R (Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000), how responses become anxiety and avoidance scores, and how HalfWay maps those to four attachment styles.
Assessment Process Overview
1. Profile Creation
Partners provide basic demographics and relationship duration to establish context for assessment.
2. ECR-R Assessment
Each partner completes a 36-question scientifically validated attachment assessment independently.
3. Score Calculation
Responses are processed through our algorithm to calculate anxiety and avoidance dimension scores.
4. Insights & Recommendations
Personalized relationship guidance based on your unique attachment style combination.
The ECR-R Framework
Scientific Foundation
HalfWay uses the published 36-item Experiences in Close Relationships—Revised (ECR-R) questionnaire (Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000)—the same stems and reverse-key rules described in standard ECR-R scoring instructions. It remains one of the most widely used self-report measures of adult romantic attachment.
Why this instrument
- • Two subscales: attachment-related anxiety (18 items) and avoidance (18 items)
- • Validated extensively in relationship and personality research
- • 7-point agree–disagree items, with published reverse-keyed items per subscale
ECR-R questionnaire and scoring (PDF) — full item wording and official scoring key (Fetzer Institute handout).
Two-Dimensional Model
ECR-R measures attachment along two independent dimensions:
Attachment-Related Anxiety
Fear of abandonment, need for reassurance, worry about partner's love and availability.
Attachment-Related Avoidance
Discomfort with intimacy, difficulty depending on others, preference for emotional distance.
Assessment Structure
36-Question Framework
Anxiety Dimension (18 questions)
Sample items (anxiety scale):
- • "I'm afraid that I will lose my partner's love."
- • "I often worry that my partner doesn't really love me."
- • "When my partner is out of sight, I worry that he or she might become interested in someone else."
- • "I rarely worry about my partner leaving me." (reverse-keyed)
Avoidance Dimension (18 questions)
Sample items (avoidance scale):
- • "I prefer not to show a partner how I feel deep down."
- • "I feel comfortable sharing my private thoughts and feelings with my partner." (reverse-keyed)
- • "I don't feel comfortable opening up to romantic partners."
- • "I get uncomfortable when a romantic partner wants to be very close."
Scoring Scale
Each question is rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree, 7 = Strongly Agree):
Note: This 7-point scale matches the published ECR-R. HalfWay shows items 1–36 in order; research studies often randomize item order, which does not change how subscale scores are computed.
Score Calculation Algorithm
Step-by-Step Process
Each raw answer is a number 1–7. For items that are reverse-keyed, the value used in scoring is 8 − raw so that higher always means higher anxiety or higher avoidance on that subscale. Then each dimension score is the mean of those transformed values across that subscale's 18 items (all items are answered in HalfWay).
Transform each item
If the item is reverse-keyed: use 8 − response; otherwise use response.
Average by dimension
Mean of transformed values for items 1–18 (anxiety) and 19–36 (avoidance).
Classify style (midpoint split)
Compare each mean to 4.0 (the midpoint of the 1–7 scale) to assign secure, anxious, avoidant, or fearful-avoidant (see below). This is a fixed cutoff, not a split at your sample's median.
Reverse-keyed item numbers (published ECR-R)
- Anxiety: items 9, 11
- Avoidance: items 20, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36
Mathematical Formulas
Per item (before averaging):
x' = 8 − x if item is reverse-keyed, else x' = x
Anxiety score (items 1–18):
anxiety_score = mean(x' for items 1–18)
Avoidance score (items 19–36):
avoidance_score = mean(x' for items 19–36)
Example (illustrative)
Suppose the 18 transformed anxiety values (after reverse-coding items 9 and 11) sum to 95. Then anxiety_score = 95 ÷ 18 ≈ 5.28.
With a 4.0 cutoff, a mean ≥ 4.0 counts as "high" on that dimension for style classification.
Attachment Style Classification
Four-Category Model
Secure
Low Anxiety + Low Avoidance
Anxiety < 4.0 AND Avoidance < 4.0
Anxious (Preoccupied)
High Anxiety + Low Avoidance
Anxiety ≥ 4.0 AND Avoidance < 4.0
Avoidant (Dismissive)
Low Anxiety + High Avoidance
Anxiety < 4.0 AND Avoidance ≥ 4.0
Fearful-Avoidant (Disorganized)
High Anxiety + High Avoidance
Anxiety ≥ 4.0 AND Avoidance ≥ 4.0
Classification Logic (Pseudocode)
if (anxiety < 4.0 && avoidance < 4.0) {
style = "secure"
} else if (anxiety >= 4.0 && avoidance < 4.0) {
style = "anxious"
} else if (anxiety < 4.0 && avoidance >= 4.0) {
style = "avoidant"
} else {
style = "fearful-avoidant"
} Data Security & Privacy
Security Measures
- Secure session-based access with temporary codes
- No permanent user accounts or email collection
- Encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/TLS)
- Row-level security with database isolation
Data Usage
- Assessment responses used solely for your results
- No sharing with third parties
- Anonymous aggregate analytics only
- You control your data - can request deletion
Research References
Scientific Foundation
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.
ECR-R questionnaire and scoring (PDF) — same 36 items and subscale scoring instructions referenced above.
Brennan, K. A., Clark, C. L., & Shaver, P. R. (1998)
Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 46-76).
Bowlby, J. (1988)
A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. Basic Books.
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