What is an Unhealthy Relationship?

Healthy relationships are not all or nothing. People's relationships are healthy to varying degrees. Some couples have more of the common elements of healthy relationships and marriages and some people have less.¹ There are things people can do to make their relationships healthier, such as improving their communication skills, or going to counseling. But healthy relationships are first and foremost safe. A relationship where violence or abuse occurs is not safe and is not healthy.

¹ Kristin Anderson Moore, Ph.D., Susan M. Jekielek, Ph.D., Jacinta Bronte-Tinkew, Ph.D., Lina Guzman, Suzanne Ryan, and Zakia Redd,"What is a 'Healthy Marriage': Defining the Concept" Child Trends Research Brief , September 2004. back