Dimensions
Drift Score
The rate at which two partners are emotionally distancing from each other, computed from engagement decay and attention markers.
Definition
Drift Score names a slow, often invisible pattern. Two partners cohabit, share routines, and report that everything is fine, while the depth of mutual attention quietly thins. The Drift Score makes that thinning visible. A rising Drift Score is not caused by fights. It is caused by forgetting to notice.
How it is measured
Computed on rolling 30-day windows from three signal families: check-in response latency, shared-activity decline rate, and parallel-device usage. Each family contributes a normalized component. The composite Drift Score ranges 0 to 100, where 0 is no measurable drift and 100 is severe drift. Within Love Pulse Labs reports, the value is always presented as a population aggregate.
Why it matters
Most couples who separate do not break apart in a single moment. They drift. The Drift Score is the early-warning measure that gives the field a way to study the long, slow approach to relational collapse before it becomes irreversible.
Related terms
The Pulse Index
A composite measure of relationship health across a population, computed from continuous behavioral signal rather than self-report.
Presence Ratio
The proportion of shared time in which both partners are giving mutual attention, as opposed to coexisting in parallel.
Rhythm Consistency
How reliably a couple maintains their connective rituals across time, including across periods of stress, travel, or disruption.
Cite this entry
Love Pulse Labs. (2026). Drift Score. The Lexicon. https://lovepulselabs.com/lexicon/drift-score
Definition v1.0. First published May 13, 2026.