Women · lifetime
20.4%Expressive aggression
27.2%Coercive control / entrapment
Research library · reviewed 4 August 2026
Designed from evidence.Not from a label.
Niki is designed around close-in reflection, inspectable patterns, uncertainty, and user control. Research informs those choices; it does not prove that Niki works.
Product validation is a separate workstream. The public walkthrough uses a prewritten composite whose choices run locally in your browser. Its selections and generated clarity note clear when you refresh.01 · Why it matters
Psychological aggression is common. Definitions matter.
Population data can show that the problem deserves attention. It cannot diagnose a person, classify your relationship, or validate a software product.
CDC National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey
Reported psychological aggression by an intimate partner
Weighted lifetime estimates. Women: 95% CI 28.7–31.7; estimated 38.611 million. Men: 95% CI 20.6–24.1; estimated 27.251 million.
This brief publishes estimates under women and men only; it does not explain coverage or provide separate estimates for other gender identities.
| Survey group | Lifetime | Past 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Women | 30.2% | 3.4% |
| Men | 22.3% | 2.5% |
Behavior categories—not personality types.
Shared bar scale · 0–35% weighted lifetime prevalenceMen · lifetime
13.1%Expressive aggression
19.5%Coercive control / entrapment
The expressive-aggression item asks whether a partner “insulted, humiliated, or made fun of you in front of others.” Coercive control/entrapment includes measured behaviors such as monitoring, isolation, financial restriction, and threats. The categories may overlap.
Published limits include a 16.5% response rate, exclusion of institutionalized and unhoused adults, and no item-level past-year psychological-aggression estimates. A changed sampling method means these figures should not be compared directly with earlier NISVS years.
Source: CDC NISVS 2023/24 IPV Data Brief, published February 2026 (opens in a new tab)A better record still needs humility.
Memory is reconstructive. Near-time notes can reduce recall demands, but prompting can change what people notice, missing entries distort patterns, and self-report remains a perspective. Niki’s user-initiated Moments are not an EMA instrument or a validated measurement schedule.
Research suggests
Recall depends on timing and current appraisal.
Niki product decision
Keep Moments brief, time-stamped, editable, and linked to their original wording.Roadmap · Long-term memoryResearch warns
Repeated prompts can introduce missingness, reactivity, or participation burden.
Niki product decision
No streak pressure. Make deeper reflection optional and make pausing easy.Status · Product principleRelationship studies observe
Responses to shared good news and perceived responsiveness add context beyond the first words exchanged.
Niki product decision
Preserve the response, the felt impact, counterexamples, and what happens after impact is named.Status · Walkthrough availableStudy designs span days to a decade. Niki has no outcome evidence.
- 1–2 weeksInteraction diaries
Event-contingent studies connected disclosure, perceived responsiveness, and reported intimacy. They did not verify intent or test a Niki-like protocol.
- 2 monthsPositive-event follow-up
Seventy-nine dating couples discussed positive and negative events. The observational result does not create a response test or relationship rule.
- 10 yearsResponsiveness follow-up
A small prospective association in married adults—not evidence that Niki improves well-being.
Niki is not an NPD detector.
A clinical diagnosis considers a persistent, pervasive pattern across contexts and long-term functioning. A relationship log cannot make that evaluation—and Niki will not imitate it with a score.
- Niki may show
- “Across your entries, this boundary was followed by the same behavior twice.”
- Niki will not show
- “Narcissism likelihood,” a covert/malignant label, a toxicity meter, or “proof.”
- Why · Niki’s safety judgment
- Harmful or confusing behavior can matter without assigning a diagnosis. False certainty can mislead and escalate harm.
The finding, the decision, and the limit.
We prioritize primary research, current national data, and professional guidance. Inclusion here does not imply endorsement of Niki.
Public relationship discussions were reviewed only to make the composite dialogue natural and identify questions people struggle to name. Those posts are anecdotal, self-selected, and unverifiable; they do not support product claims.
National surveillance brief · February 2026
The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2023/2024 Intimate Partner Violence Data Brief
- Key finding
- Weighted national estimates from 15,609 survey completers were 30.2% of women and 22.3% of men for lifetime psychological aggression by an intimate partner.
- How it informs Niki
- Keeps the problem grounded in measured behaviors and population context—not internet labels.
- What it does not prove
- Self-report; 16.5% response and 72.1% cooperation; excludes institutionalized and unhoused adults. The changed method should not be compared with earlier NISVS years. This brief publishes estimates only under women and men.
Methods review · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · 2008
Ecological Momentary Assessment
- Key finding
- Repeated reports in natural settings can reduce recall demands and reveal how experiences change over time.
- How it informs Niki
- Motivates a design hypothesis: brief, near-time Moments that remain linked to their original date and wording.
- What it does not prove
- Niki’s user-initiated Moments are not an EMA instrument or validated measurement schedule. Momentary self-report is not objective truth.
Critical methods review · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · 2023
Evaluation of Pressing Issues in Ecological Momentary Assessment
- Key finding
- Near-time methods reduce some memory demands but introduce their own measurement and comparison problems.
- How it informs Niki
- Motivates visible uncertainty, correction, pause controls, and no claim of an “objective memory.”
- What it does not prove
- Selection bias, missing assessments, interpretation, reliability, and measurement reactivity remain live issues.
Longitudinal observational study · Journal of Marriage and Family · 2016
Does Partner Responsiveness Predict Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being? A 10-Year Longitudinal Study
- Key finding
- In 2,348 married adults who remained with the same spouse, perceived care, understanding, and appreciation had a small prospective association with later eudaimonic well-being.
- How it informs Niki
- Motivates asking whether the user felt cared for, understood, and appreciated—without creating a responsiveness score.
- What it does not prove
- The analytic sample was 96% White, observational, self-reported, and limited to same-spouse respondents. It did not measure Niki-style follow-through.
Daily diary study · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · online 2019, issue 2021
Assessing Intimate Partner Violence Via Daily Diary Surveys: Feasibility, Reporting, and Acceptability
- Key finding
- Of 923 students, 49.8% were retained on the final day and 24.8% completed all 21 days. Average reactions were low in negativity and moderate in positivity.
- How it informs Niki
- The retention challenge motivates a short first capture, optional depth, easy pauses, and no streak shame.
- What it does not prove
- Primarily White, heterosexual undergraduates at two U.S. universities received course credit. Attrition alone does not establish burden or Niki’s ideal schedule.
Longitudinal observational study · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · 2017
The Dyadic Construction of Romantic Conflict Recovery Sabotage
- Key finding
- One hundred couples completed a coded conflict and cooldown discussion; relationship satisfaction and stability were measured one year later.
- How it informs Niki
- Motivates a follow-up after the first conflict moment while resisting a universal repair formula.
- What it does not prove
- A small observational couple study does not establish causation, a diagnostic signal, or an outcome Niki can reproduce.
Multi-study investigation · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · 2004
What Do You Do When Things Go Right? The Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Benefits of Sharing Positive Events
- Key finding
- Across four studies, sharing positive events and perceiving an enthusiastic, constructive response were associated with greater positive affect or relationship well-being.
- How it informs Niki
- Grounds the walkthrough’s project-milestone moment: preserve what was shared and the partner’s response before interpreting what it means.
- What it does not prove
- The studies did not test Niki, establish a universal response rule, or show that a browser walkthrough improves relationships.
Observed couple conversations · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · 2006
Will You Be There for Me When Things Go Right? Supportive Responses to Positive Event Disclosures
- Key finding
- Seventy-nine dating couples discussed recent positive and negative events on video. Responses during positive-event discussions were more closely related to relationship well-being and breakup status two months later than responses during negative-event discussions.
- How it informs Niki
- Motivates the walkthrough’s focus on a meaningful life update and on whether the response felt understanding, validating, and caring.
- What it does not prove
- A small observational study cannot establish causation, classify a relationship, or validate Niki’s interpretation of a single exchange.
Event-contingent diary studies · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · 1998
Intimacy as an Interpersonal Process: The Importance of Self-Disclosure, Partner Disclosure, and Perceived Partner Responsiveness in Interpersonal Exchanges
- Key finding
- Across naturally occurring interactions recorded over one or two weeks, perceived partner responsiveness partially mediated associations between disclosure and reported intimacy.
- How it informs Niki
- Supports keeping the exchange, how it landed, and the perceived response in separate journal fields instead of collapsing them into one verdict.
- What it does not prove
- Event-contingent self-report remains subjective and cannot verify another person’s intent or show that Niki improves intimacy.
Research review · Current Opinion in Psychology · 2023
Responsiveness in Romantic Partners’ Interactions
- Key finding
- The review describes perceived responsiveness as feeling that a partner understood one’s thoughts, goals, and needs, validated one’s position, and cared for one’s well-being.
- How it informs Niki
- Informs the walkthrough’s separate prompts about understanding, validation, and care instead of collapsing them into a score.
- What it does not prove
- A review does not classify one response, establish causation, validate Niki, or show that these prompts improve relationship outcomes.
Three-study investigation · Journal of Family Psychology · 2020
How to Kiss and Make-Up (or Not!): Postconflict Behavior and Affective Recovery From Conflict
- Key finding
- The studies identified four postconflict behavior dimensions. In a two-week diary of 226 cohabiting couples, active repair and gaining a new perspective were associated with better affective recovery, while avoidance was associated with poorer recovery.
- How it informs Niki
- Motivates the walkthrough’s later follow-up about acknowledgment, repair, and what happened next—not only the first hurtful moment.
- What it does not prove
- The diary findings are self-reported associations; they do not establish causation, prescribe a universal repair sequence, or validate Niki.
Cross-sectional dyadic study · Psychological Reports · 2024
Perceived Emotional Invalidation, Psychological Distress and Relationship Satisfaction in Couples
- Key finding
- Among 240 mixed-gender couples in Portugal, each partner’s own perceived emotional invalidation was associated with their own psychological distress, but not directly with their own relationship satisfaction.
- How it informs Niki
- Supports recording that a response felt dismissive while keeping perceived impact separate from intent, diagnosis, and an objective verdict about the partner.
- What it does not prove
- The study was cross-sectional, self-reported, and culturally specific; it cannot establish causation or show that one exchange is a stable relationship pattern.
Ecological momentary assessment · Anxiety, Stress, & Coping · 2023
Perceived Emotion Invalidation Predicts Daily Affect and Stressors
- Key finding
- Eighty-six young adults completed one week of momentary reports. Higher perceived emotion invalidation predicted lower momentary positive affect and interacted with social context in some analyses.
- How it informs Niki
- Supports taking a felt drop in excitement seriously while keeping it labelled as perceived impact rather than proof of motive.
- What it does not prove
- The findings are preliminary, based on a small young-adult sample, not specific to romantic partners, and do not establish causation.
Dyadic daily-diary study · Frontiers in Psychology · 2021
The Role of Relational Entitlement, Self-Disclosure and Perceived Partner Responsiveness in Predicting Couple Satisfaction
- Key finding
- Ninety-nine Romanian couples completed two daily reports for seven days. Higher person-level excessive relational entitlement was associated with lower couple satisfaction for women and men.
- How it informs Niki
- Supports asking whether availability and special treatment are negotiated reciprocally across moments, without treating one request as a personality verdict.
- What it does not prove
- The study was observational, used a young mostly unmarried Romanian sample, and measured entitlement as a person-level construct. Niki cannot infer that construct from a few exchanges.
Conflict diary study · Personal Relationships · 2009
Demand-Withdraw Patterns in Marital Conflict in the Home
- Key finding
- In diary reports from 116 U.S. married couples, demand-withdraw patterns were associated with more negative emotions and tactics and lower conflict resolution after marital satisfaction was considered.
- How it informs Niki
- Supports preserving the exact response to a concrete concern, including excuses, ‘yes, but,’ topic shifts, counter-complaints, or disengagement.
- What it does not prove
- The findings are observational, based on married heterosexual couples, and concern a dyadic conflict pattern—not an individual diagnosis or the meaning of one reply.
Professional guidance · American Psychiatric Association · accessed July 2026
What Are Personality Disorders?
- Key finding
- The American Psychiatric Association says diagnosis requires a mental health professional to evaluate long-term patterns of functioning and symptoms.
- How it informs Niki
- Creates a hard product boundary: Niki tracks behaviors and impact, never NPD probability or a person-level verdict.
- What it does not prove
- Educational guidance is not a product validation study.
Research-informed.Validation comes next.
Clinical benefit, diagnostic accuracy, relationship outcomes, and harm reduction remain open research questions. Niki organizes user-provided reflection; professional support has a different role.