Screening Attachment Problems in Youth: Psychometric Validation of the Self- and Parent-Report Adolescent Attachment Anxiety and Avoidance Inventory

The Adolescent Attachment Anxiety and Avoidance Inventory (AAAAI) is a 16-item parent- and youth-report measure of adolescent attachment anxiety and avoidance, modelled after the adult Experiences in Close Relationships scale (ECR; Brennan et al., 1998), which assesses these dimensions in adult romantic relationships. Despite the importance of attachment in adolescence, few measures assess both dimensions with rigorous psychometric support (Jewell et al., 2019). This study examined the factor structure and validity of the AAAAI across four independent parent samples (N = 490, 424, 228, 551) and one youth sample (N = 499). Confirmatory factor analyses consistently supported a two-factor structure, with improved fit when a method factor and select secondary relations were included. One-factor models showed severe misfit, and attachment anxiety and avoidance emerged as separable rather than unified dimensions of insecurity. Differential associations with youth internalizing and externalizing problems supported the discriminant validity of each subscale across both parent- and youth-report. Multi-method analyses confirmed that anxiety and avoidance were distinguishable across informants, while modest parent-youth convergence suggested complementary rather than interchangeable perspectives. This study provides the first complete psychometric evaluation of the AAAAI, supporting its use as a psychometrically sound measure of attachment anxiety and avoidance in adolescence.