Reluctance to disclose inner thoughts and feelings, remaining guarded, and having desire for personal control are all signs of avoidant attachment.1, 2 Research shows that in adolescence and young adulthood,
avoidant individuals do not connect as deeply (they have less intimacy and emotional closeness) with friends and romantic partners as secure individuals do, and this lack of connection largely results from less self - disclosure.
The ASQ includes five scales: (1) ASQ - F1, «Confidence in relationships»; higher scores in this subscale indicate a secure attachment (e.g., «I find it relatively easy to get close to other people»); (2) ASQ - F2, «Need for approval» denotes both worried and fearful aspects of attachment, characterized by an
individual's need for others» approval and acceptance (e.g., «It's important for me to avoid
doing things that others won't like»); (3) ASQ - F3: the subjects» anxious behavior in searching for others, motivated by the necessity to fulfill dependency needs, is depicted by the subscale «Preoccupation with relationships»; it represents a central topic in the conceptualization of anxious / ambivalent attachment (e.g., «It's very important for me to have a close relationship»); (4) ASQ - F4, «Discomfort with closeness» reflects an
avoidant attachment (e.g., «I prefer to keep to myself»), and (5) ASQ - F5 «Relationships as secondary» is typical of a dismissive style, in which subjects tend to emphasize achievements and independence, in order to protect themselves against hurt and vulnerability (e.g., «To ask for help is to admit that you're a failure»).