Handbook
Relationships, Intimacy, and Conflict Intelligence
Support respectful communication, boundaries, conflict analysis, repair, negotiation, and relationship decisions while detecting abuse, coercion, and safety risks.
Updated
Definition
Support respectful communication, boundaries, conflict analysis, repair, negotiation, and relationship decisions while detecting abuse, coercion, and safety risks.
Coverage role
Close relationships shape wellbeing, care, family life, housing, finance, and daily functioning.
Scope
Included
- needs and boundaries
- perspective taking
- conflict mapping
- de-escalation
- agreement and repair
- relationship decisions
- consent and safety
- abuse routing
Excluded and non-goals
- couples therapy
- pressuring reconciliation
- mutualizing abuse
- covert manipulation
- partner surveillance
- custody decisions
Boundary rules
- Route to life.relationships-intimacy-conflict when the requested outcome requires one or more declared capabilities and the output can be represented by its canonical artifacts.
- Route to an adjacent or specialist intelligence when domain-specific rules, tools, or professional authority dominate the problem.
- Use general.reasoning to coordinate multi-pack conflicts, hard constraints, uncertainty, and decision status.
- Return ask, defer, or escalate when required context, source authority, consent, or accountable ownership is missing.
Capability semantics
| Capability ID | Name | Semantic intent |
|---|---|---|
capability.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.clarify_needs_boundaries |
Clarify Needs Boundaries | Separate observations feelings needs boundaries requests and consequences. |
capability.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.map_conflict |
Map Conflict | Identify events interpretations interests power recurring patterns and unresolved facts. |
capability.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.prepare_conversation |
Prepare Conversation | Create a safe setting opening questions listening plan boundaries and exit conditions. |
capability.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.support_deescalation |
Support Deescalation | Use pauses turn-taking paraphrase time-outs and topic narrowing when safe. |
capability.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.negotiate_agreement |
Negotiate Agreement | Define voluntary commitments fairness criteria review dates and dispute handling. |
capability.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.support_repair_or_decision |
Support Repair Or Decision | Assess accountability evidence of change safety compatibility and reversibility. |
capability.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.recognize_abuse_coercion |
Recognize Abuse Coercion | Detect coercive control threats stalking sexual coercion financial control child risk or violence. |
Canonical artifact concepts
| Artifact type | Structural category | Semantic purpose |
|---|---|---|
artifact.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.relationship_context |
context_profile | Relationship Context for Relationships, Intimacy, and Conflict Intelligence: A bounded context profile that separates observations, preferences, constraints, uncertainty, time scope, and next questions. It supports the pack purpose of support respectful communication, boundaries, conflict analysis, repair, negotiation, and relationship decisions while detecting abuse, coercion, and safety risks. |
artifact.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.boundary_statement |
brief | Boundary Statement for Relationships, Intimacy, and Conflict Intelligence: A bounded specification of purpose, stakeholders, requirements, constraints, assumptions, and success criteria. It supports the pack purpose of support respectful communication, boundaries, conflict analysis, repair, negotiation, and relationship decisions while detecting abuse, coercion, and safety risks. |
artifact.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.conflict_map |
model | Conflict Map for Relationships, Intimacy, and Conflict Intelligence: A purpose-bounded representation of entities, relationships, assumptions, boundaries, and evidence of adequacy. It supports the pack purpose of support respectful communication, boundaries, conflict analysis, repair, negotiation, and relationship decisions while detecting abuse, coercion, and safety risks. |
artifact.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.conversation_plan |
plan | Conversation Plan for Relationships, Intimacy, and Conflict Intelligence: A governed action design that sequences work, ownership, dependencies, timing, contingencies, and review. It supports the pack purpose of support respectful communication, boundaries, conflict analysis, repair, negotiation, and relationship decisions while detecting abuse, coercion, and safety risks. |
artifact.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.de_escalation_plan |
decision | De Escalation Plan for Relationships, Intimacy, and Conflict Intelligence: A bounded decision or routing record that exposes alternatives, governing constraints, evidence, rationale, ownership, status, and reopening conditions. It supports the pack purpose of support respectful communication, boundaries, conflict analysis, repair, negotiation, and relationship decisions while detecting abuse, coercion, and safety risks. |
artifact.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.relationship_agreement |
structured_output | Relationship Agreement for Relationships, Intimacy, and Conflict Intelligence: A typed domain output that preserves purpose, context, evidence, assumptions, status, and next action. It supports the pack purpose of support respectful communication, boundaries, conflict analysis, repair, negotiation, and relationship decisions while detecting abuse, coercion, and safety risks. |
artifact.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.safety_route |
decision | Safety Route for Relationships, Intimacy, and Conflict Intelligence: A bounded decision or routing record that exposes alternatives, governing constraints, evidence, rationale, ownership, status, and reopening conditions. It supports the pack purpose of support respectful communication, boundaries, conflict analysis, repair, negotiation, and relationship decisions while detecting abuse, coercion, and safety risks. |
artifact.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.relationship_repair_and_decision_record |
decision | Relationship Repair And Decision Record for Relationships, Intimacy, and Conflict Intelligence: A bounded decision or routing record that exposes alternatives, governing constraints, evidence, rationale, ownership, status, and reopening conditions. It supports the pack purpose of support respectful communication, boundaries, conflict analysis, repair, negotiation, and relationship decisions while detecting abuse, coercion, and safety risks. |
Method families and limits
| Method ID | Method | Use when | Avoid when |
|---|---|---|---|
method.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.active_listening |
active listening | Use when meaning, participation, trust, accessibility, or action depends on adapting a message and confirming shared understanding. | Avoid manipulative framing, false simplicity, disclosure beyond consent, or treating silence and repetition as proof of understanding. |
method.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.perspective_checking |
perspective checking | Use when several people or institutions have different interests, rights, constraints, information, or acceptable outcomes and an agreement or safe boundary is needed. | Avoid where coercion, abuse, incapacity, severe power asymmetry, or non-negotiable safety and rights constraints make ordinary negotiation unsafe. |
method.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.interest_based_negotiation |
interest-based negotiation | Use when several people or institutions have different interests, rights, constraints, information, or acceptable outcomes and an agreement or safe boundary is needed. | Avoid where coercion, abuse, incapacity, severe power asymmetry, or non-negotiable safety and rights constraints make ordinary negotiation unsafe. |
method.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.boundary_and_consent_communication |
boundary and consent communication | Use when meaning, participation, trust, accessibility, or action depends on adapting a message and confirming shared understanding. | Avoid manipulative framing, false simplicity, disclosure beyond consent, or treating silence and repetition as proof of understanding. |
method.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.conflict_cycle_mapping |
conflict-cycle mapping | Use when several people or institutions have different interests, rights, constraints, information, or acceptable outcomes and an agreement or safe boundary is needed. | Avoid where coercion, abuse, incapacity, severe power asymmetry, or non-negotiable safety and rights constraints make ordinary negotiation unsafe. |
method.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.safety_first_abuse_screening |
safety-first abuse screening | Use when potential harm must be detected, prioritized, contained, routed, and recorded without exceeding available authority. | Avoid delaying emergency or safeguarding routes, asking for unnecessary sensitive detail, or giving instructions that increase exposure, destroy evidence, or conflict with official guidance. |
Pack-specific invariants
The pack also inherits the core invariants in core/core_invariants.yaml.
| Invariant ID | Statement | Failure action |
|---|---|---|
invariant.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.01_abuse_is_not_framed_as_a_symmetrical_communication_problem |
Abuse is not framed as a symmetrical communication problem. | escalate |
invariant.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.02_reconciliation_or_confrontation_is_not_advised_when_unsafe |
Reconciliation or confrontation is not advised when unsafe. | escalate |
invariant.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.03_agreements_are_voluntary_specific_and_reviewable |
Agreements are voluntary specific and reviewable. | escalate |
invariant.life.relationships-intimacy-conflict.04_covert_manipulation_and_monitoring_are_prohibited |
Covert manipulation and monitoring are prohibited. | escalate |
Dependencies and relations
Operational general intelligences: None
Foundation concepts: general.collaborative-social, general.communication-explanatory, general.affective-self-regulation, general.ethical-normative, general.strategic-adversarial
Life intelligences: life.emotional-regulation-resilience, life.sexual-reproductive-health-navigation, life.mental-health-help-seeking, life.civic-legal-public-services
Source roles
| Source ID | Claim roles | Runtime resolution required |
|---|---|---|
ec.lifecomp |
competence_framework, concept_definition, evaluation_dimension | True |
local.authority |
jurisdiction_rule, runtime_fact, service_or_community_context | True |
Risk and authority boundary
Risk class: critical
- Immediate danger.
- Abuse stalking sexual violence child risk or coercive control.
- Legal custody housing or financial protection issues.
Accountable people retain consent, value, regulated, irreversible, and residual-risk decisions. This semantic page does not claim a deployed implementation.
Maturity
semantic: S3_reviewable_definition
contract: C3_testable_contract
implementation: I0_not_included
evidence: E2_source_roles_mapped
governance: G2_controls_and_review_defined
overlay: O2_paired_seed_complete
Paired overlay
Runtime maturity
- Capabilities: 7
- Technical floor→ceiling:
I1_runtime→I1_runtime - Autonomy floor→ceiling:
A0_assisted→A0_assisted - I1_runtime count: 7
- Evidence class:
contract: 7 - Full hierarchy: MATURITY-HIERARCHY.md
Evaluation suite status
- CI status:
pass - Suite:
evaluation_suites/relationships-intimacy-conflict.yaml - Cases defined: 7
- Capabilities under test: 7