{"name":"Swooni Relationship Fitness Index","version":"1","edition":"August 2026","status":"evidence baseline","published":"2026-07-10","updated":"2026-08-03","updateCadence":"Monthly","nextScheduledReview":"September 2026","reviewNote":"All cited sources were rechecked on 3 August 2026. No displayed figure, interpretation, or limitation changed.","url":"https://swooni.io/relationship-fitness-index","methodologyUrl":"https://swooni.io/relationship-fitness-index#methodology","methodology":{"purpose":"Provide a small, auditable public-evidence baseline for explaining why relationship fitness matters.","unitOfAnalysis":"Published evidence signals. The Index does not score, rank, or diagnose a person or couple.","inclusionCriteria":["A primary or authoritative public source is available without private access.","The displayed claim can be located directly in the cited source.","The evidence is relevant to social connection, relationship patterns, or relational wellbeing.","The figure can be explained with its population scope, context, and limitation."],"exclusionCriteria":["Swooni member data, inferred member attributes, testimonials, or internal product analytics.","SEO-tool estimates, vendor claims, or statistics without a retrievable original source.","Unsupported causal, clinical, diagnostic, or person-level conclusions.","A combined score that would imply more precision than the evidence supports."],"reviewProtocol":["Reopen every cited source and verify the displayed figure, evidence locator, scope, and limitation.","Search for newly published primary or authoritative evidence that materially changes the baseline.","Synchronize the HTML report, JSON, CSV, Markdown, press references, sitemap metadata, and regression checks.","Record both substantive changes and source reviews that produce no substantive change."],"externalReview":{"status":"Not externally peer reviewed","statement":"This is a Swooni editorial evidence baseline, not an academic systematic review or validated clinical instrument.","correctionsUrl":"https://swooni.io/contact-us"},"correctionPolicy":"Material corrections are dated in the edition history. Figures, interpretations, and limitations are not silently changed."},"citation":{"text":"Swooni. (2026). Swooni Relationship Fitness Index (August 2026; reviewed 3 August 2026). https://swooni.io/relationship-fitness-index","note":"When citing an individual figure, cite its original source alongside the Swooni Relationship Fitness Index."},"machineReadable":{"json":"https://swooni.io/relationship-fitness-index.json","csv":"https://swooni.io/relationship-fitness-index.csv","markdown":"https://swooni.io/relationship-fitness-index.md"},"description":"A source-backed baseline for understanding relationship fitness through connection, communication, appreciation, repair, and continuity.","dataPolicy":{"includesSwooniMemberData":false,"statement":"This edition contains public research only. It does not contain private, individual, inferred, or anonymized Swooni member data."},"dimensions":[{"id":"connection","number":"01","label":"Connection","question":"Do both partners feel noticed, supported, and emotionally reachable?","practice":"Track small bids for attention, moments of warmth, and whether support is available when it matters."},{"id":"communication","number":"02","label":"Communication","question":"Can needs and feelings be named without the conversation becoming unsafe?","practice":"Look for clarity, listening, softer starts, and enough room for both perspectives."},{"id":"appreciation","number":"03","label":"Appreciation","question":"Are positive moments visible, specific, and repeated?","practice":"Notice gratitude, affection, humor, and everyday signals that keep goodwill available during stress."},{"id":"repair","number":"04","label":"Repair","question":"After friction, can the couple take responsibility and find their way back?","practice":"Watch for accountability, de-escalation, apology, reassurance, and completed reconnection."},{"id":"continuity","number":"05","label":"Continuity","question":"Do useful relationship habits survive busy weeks and difficult seasons?","practice":"Measure consistency gently: repeated check-ins matter more than an occasional perfect conversation."}],"metrics":[{"id":"global-loneliness","label":"People globally reporting loneliness","displayValue":"1 in 6","numericValue":15.8,"unit":"percent","direction":"context","summary":"The WHO estimates that 15.8% of people globally reported loneliness between 2014 and 2023.","sourceId":"who-social-connection-2025","limitation":"This is a global loneliness estimate, not a measure of romantic relationship quality or Swooni members.","populationScope":"Global estimates across 153 countries and territories, using observations from 2014 to 2023.","uncertaintyOrContext":"The 15.8% estimate has a 95% uncertainty interval of 12.8% to 20.1%."},{"id":"heart-disease-risk","label":"Higher heart-disease risk associated with poor social relationships","displayValue":"+29%","numericValue":29,"unit":"percent","direction":"risk","summary":"A synthesis cited by the U.S. Surgeon General associated poor social relationships with a 29% increase in heart-disease risk.","sourceId":"hhs-social-connection-advisory","limitation":"This is an association across social-connection research and does not establish that one relationship habit causes a health outcome.","populationScope":"A synthesis of 16 independent longitudinal studies covering multiple forms of social relationship quality and quantity.","uncertaintyOrContext":"The reported figure is a pooled association. It is not evidence that poor social relationships directly cause heart disease."},{"id":"stroke-risk","label":"Higher stroke risk associated with poor social relationships","displayValue":"+32%","numericValue":32,"unit":"percent","direction":"risk","summary":"The same synthesis associated poor social relationships with a 32% increase in stroke risk.","sourceId":"hhs-social-connection-advisory","limitation":"This is a population-level association, not a prediction or clinical assessment for an individual or couple.","populationScope":"A synthesis of 16 independent longitudinal studies covering multiple forms of social relationship quality and quantity.","uncertaintyOrContext":"The reported figure is a pooled association. It is not an individual risk prediction or proof of causation."},{"id":"adult-development-duration","label":"Years in the Harvard adult-development study","displayValue":"87 years","numericValue":87,"unit":"years","direction":"context","summary":"The Harvard Study of Adult Development began in 1938 and continues to examine relationships, health, and happiness across generations.","sourceId":"harvard-adult-development-2025","limitation":"Its original cohorts were not globally representative; the value here describes study duration, not an effect size.","populationScope":"A longitudinal study that began with 724 participants and later expanded to include wives and descendants.","uncertaintyOrContext":"The displayed value describes the study's duration. It is not a statistical effect estimate."},{"id":"positive-interaction-benchmark","label":"Positive-to-negative interactions during conflict","displayValue":"5:1","numericValue":5,"unit":"ratio","direction":"benchmark","summary":"The Gottman Institute describes five or more positive interactions for every negative interaction during conflict in stable, happy relationships.","sourceId":"gottman-magic-ratio","limitation":"The ratio is a research-informed benchmark, not a diagnostic threshold or guarantee for a particular relationship.","populationScope":"Couples observed during conflict in longitudinal relationship research described by the Gottman Institute.","uncertaintyOrContext":"The 5:1 benchmark applies to interactions during conflict and should not be generalized into a clinical diagnosis."}],"sources":[{"id":"who-social-connection-2025","organization":"World Health Organization","title":"From loneliness to social connection: charting a path to healthier societies","date":"2025-06-30","dateType":"published","lastReviewed":"2026-08-03","url":"https://www.who.int/publications/b/79027","evidenceUrl":"https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/381746/9789240112360-eng.pdf","evidenceLocator":"Chapter 2, section 2.2, Figure 2","evidenceScope":"Global loneliness prevalence estimates covering 2014 to 2023.","sourceType":"public-health report"},{"id":"hhs-social-connection-advisory","organization":"U.S. Department of Health and Human Services","title":"Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation","date":"2023-05-03","dateType":"published","lastReviewed":"2026-08-03","url":"https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/connection/index.html","evidenceUrl":"https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf","evidenceLocator":"Chapter 2, Cardiovascular Disease, page 26","evidenceScope":"A synthesis of 16 independent longitudinal studies of social relationships and cardiovascular outcomes.","sourceType":"public-health report"},{"id":"harvard-adult-development-2025","organization":"Harvard Study of Adult Development","title":"Things money cannot buy — like happiness and better health","date":"2025-05-20","dateType":"published","lastReviewed":"2026-08-03","url":"https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/05/things-money-cant-buy-like-happiness-and-better-health/","evidenceUrl":"https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/05/things-money-cant-buy-like-happiness-and-better-health/","evidenceLocator":"Introduction, the paragraph identifying the study's 87th year","evidenceScope":"An official Harvard summary of the longitudinal study's duration, cohorts, and continuing research.","sourceType":"longitudinal study summary"},{"id":"gottman-magic-ratio","organization":"The Gottman Institute","title":"The Magic Relationship Ratio, According to Science","date":"2026-08-03","dateType":"accessed","lastReviewed":"2026-08-03","url":"https://www.gottman.com/blog/the-magic-relationship-ratio-according-science/","evidenceUrl":"https://www.gottman.com/blog/the-magic-relationship-ratio-according-science/","evidenceLocator":"The section beginning 'That magic ratio is 5 to 1'","evidenceScope":"A research-institute explanation of the positive-to-negative interaction benchmark during conflict.","sourceType":"research institute guidance"}],"interpretation":"The evidence signals provide context for why relationship fitness matters. They are not combined into a person-level, couple-level, clinical, or diagnostic score.","editionHistory":[{"version":"1","edition":"August 2026","reviewed":"2026-08-03","note":"All cited sources were rechecked on 3 August 2026. No displayed figure, interpretation, or limitation changed."},{"version":"1","edition":"July 2026","reviewed":"2026-07-20","note":"All cited sources were rechecked on 20 July 2026. No displayed figure, interpretation, or limitation changed."},{"version":"1","edition":"July 2026","reviewed":"2026-07-13","note":"All cited sources were rechecked on 13 July 2026. No displayed figure, interpretation, or limitation changed."},{"version":"1","edition":"July 2026","reviewed":"2026-07-10","note":"Initial public-research evidence baseline and five-dimension framework."}]}