Toxic Relationship: Take the Test to Assess the Signs

The nagging doubt: am I in a toxic relationship?

You have that vague feeling that something is wrong in your relationship. Some days, everything seems fine. Others, you feel exhausted, diminished, unable to put words to what's eating away at you. Your loved ones sometimes tell you that you've changed, but you can't figure out if you're exaggerating or if your relationship is actually hurting you.

This doubt is itself an important signal. In a healthy relationship, you don't spend your evenings searching the internet to see if your couple is "normal." The mere fact that you're asking the question deserves an objective answer, far from the contradictory emotions that cloud your judgment day to day. This is exactly what a structured test based on validated clinical criteria can provide.

What is a toxic relationship according to psychology?

The term "toxic relationship" has become common in popular language, but in clinical psychology, it covers specific realities. A toxic relationship is defined as a relational dynamic in which one partner (or both) repeatedly engages in behaviors that harm the other's self-esteem, autonomy, or psychological well-being.

The work of John Gottman at the University of Washington identified four behaviors predictive of relationship breakdown, known as the four horsemen of the Apocalypse: criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling. When these patterns become chronic, the relationship tips into toxicity.

Psychologist Lillian Glass, who popularized the term in 1995, describes toxic relationships as ones where partners don't support each other, where ongoing conflict reigns, and where one seeks to belittle the other. In CBT, we also identify submission schemas (Young, 2003) and cognitive distortions that keep a person in the relationship despite suffering: minimization ("it's not that bad"), rationalization ("he/she had a difficult childhood"), or self-blame ("it's my fault things aren't working").

Our detection test: how it works

To help you see clearly, we've developed a toxic relationship detection test available free on our platform. This test evaluates your situation through 30 questions organized around several clinical dimensions.

Each question addresses a concrete, observable behavior: how your partner reacts to your successes, how you handle disagreements, your freedom to see loved ones, how you feel after a conversation, and more. You answer on a frequency scale (never, rarely, sometimes, often, almost always), which provides a nuanced score rather than a simple "yes/no."

The test is grounded in research from Gottman on destructive couple dynamics, Lundy Bancroft's work on controlling behaviors, and assessment frameworks used in CBT clinical practice. It is 100% confidential: your responses remain on your device and are never transmitted to a server.

What the test teaches you

Your result isn't limited to a single overall number. The detailed report you'll receive after the test breaks down your score into distinct dimensions: control, devaluation, isolation, emotional instability, and power imbalance. This granularity is essential.

You might discover that your relationship shows a strong power imbalance but little devaluation, or that isolation is the main mechanism at work. Understanding where the toxicity lies allows you to act in a targeted way, whether through couples therapy or a personal approach.

Going further: analyze your actual conversation

A test evaluates your perception of the relationship. But your written exchanges contain objective clues that even your own judgment might miss. The tone of your messages, response times, patterns of asymmetrical communication: all measurable elements that complement your self-assessment.

If you'd like to cross-reference your test result with a concrete analysis of your exchanges, our partner platform ScanMyLove offers a detailed analysis of your messages in a strictly confidential setting. You can import your conversation there to get a factual diagnosis of your couple dynamic.