What are the estimated percentages of different attachment styles in adults?

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Adult Attachment Style Distribution (Estimated Percentages)

Adult attachment style prevalence estimates are commonly reported using the three-category adult model from Hazan and Shaver. [1]

Secure attachment

Approximately 56% of adults are classified as secure in this three-category model. [1]

Avoidant attachment

Approximately 25% of adults are classified as avoidant in this three-category model. [1]

Anxious/ambivalent attachment

Approximately 19% of adults are classified as anxious/ambivalent in this three-category model. [1]

In a large nationally representative American adult sample, the reported distribution was 59% secure, 25% avoidant, and 11% anxious using a comparable categorization. [2]

Sources (2)

[1] Research 1987

Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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[2] Research 1997

Adult attachment in a nationally representative sample

Harvard Medical School (Health Care Policy) publication page (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)