Dubbed 'The Valentine Scale', the seven questions developed by Stockholm University could be the key to identifying the health of your romantic relationship
Relationships, of all kinds, are multifaceted – informed by shared experiences, personal histories and the way each has shaped a person’s outlook and personality. So, it seems reductive to think an online quiz could ever accurately know how healthy our relationships (romantic, specifically) are, right? Well, sort of.
Yesterday, researchers at Stockholm University published a quiz created to place romantic couples on “The Valentine Scale”. The answers you give correlate to a certain number of points. At the end, the points are added together to give you a total score out of 21. Depending on how high or low your score is, the quiz will give you suggestions on how to improve, or affirmations on a healthy relationship.
Photo: Adnym
The questions and prompts are short with multiple-choice answers, ranging from how often you think about ending the relationship (a seemingly sure sign of doom) to how much you feel able to confide in your partner. The seven prompts are:
- “I can collaborate well and solve practical problems with my partner.”
- “I feel that I can confide in my partner.”
- “When my partner and I disagree or have a conflict, I quickly get over it.”
- “How often in the recent past have you thought that your relationship is not good?”
- “How often have you recently considered separating from your partner?”
- “How emotionally close do you feel to your partner?”
- “Overall, how satisfied are you with your relationship?”
If it seems too good to be true, I agree. Seven questions and you’ll have a well-rounded insight into your incredibly nuanced relationship? Surely, not. However, the science does back it up. Of the 1,300 participants included in the two studies, the results were found to correlate strongly with other provable, reputable measures of relationship satisfaction. Of course, it can’t accurately quantify how many snipes it takes to move the needle down, or how many cups of tea in bed it takes to move it back up, but it can tell you interesting things about how you deal with conflict resolution, emotional closeness and trust. Intrigued? Question one, please!
Originally published by British Vogue