Parental Alienation Syndrome / Parental Alienation Disorder

Parental Alienation Syndrome is a putative disorder proposed by Richard A. Gardner as "a disturbance in which children are obsessively preoccupied with depreciation and/or criticism of a parent. In other words, denigration that is unjustified and or exaggerated." Although Parental Alienation Syndrome has not gained official recognition as a psychological disorder, case law has recognized it in child custody disputes.


Forerunners

Wallerstein and Kelly described a "Medea complex" with similar dynamics in the 1970s. Professionals who work with divorcing parents sometimes described the process as brainwashing and recognized Gardner's description upon its first publication in 1985.[1]


Characteristics


Parental Alienation Syndrome, can occur if a parent criticizes the other parent or stepparent directly to a child or in front of the children. It will most likely occur during divorce, custody hearings, upon remarriage of a parent, or most commonly during primary contact with the children. The effect is to produce a disturbance in the child's relationship with the other parent.[2][3]

Gardner proposed that children have been taught by an alienating parent to hate the targeted parent, to the point of wanting to eliminate the targeted parent from their lives. He considered this psychological abuse and a form of psychological abuse that has clear-cut unmistakable signs and symptoms, and therefore be easily diagnosed.

Alan Kemp (Kemp. p. 36) further described the categories that make up PAS: Rejecting (spurning), terrorizing, corrupting, denying essential stimulation, emotional responsiveness or availability, unreliable and inconsistent parenting, mental health, medical or educational neglect, degrating/devaluating the other parent, isolating, and exploiting the child. By deliberately alienating the victims from other family members and social supports, isolation occurs. The alienator then uses threats or denigrating tactics to force victims to comply with their requests (terrorizing). Essentially, in PAS, the children are used to destroy the targeted parent as a means of revenge and domestic violence.


The alienating parent refuses to comply with court orders, tells the children they do not have to abide by them either, thus prompting them to ignore the authority of the targeted parent. The idea is the alienating parent has a goal of destroying the targeted parent by using the children as weapons or pawns. The alienating parent uses the children to verbally terrorize their other parent, to isolate the other parent, to accuse the other parent and to take away the financial or earning capabilities of the other parent by continual harassments such as false accusations of abuse, further ignoring of court orders to bring about more custody changes and eventual destruction of the targeted parent through emotional/financial/physical collapse wherein the alienated parent goes to court in a custody fight to appear to be the better parent for custody of the children.

PAS occurs as a result of cross-generational coalitions, enmeshed relationships, triangles, borderless boundary families and is child psychological maltreatment as recognized by the DSM under Cluster B Personality Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder. The alienating parent without regard to the needs of the children continually violates the rights, needs and court orders from the other parent. The alienating parent willingly and callously puts their own needs and desires above that of everyone else, including their own children, to fulfill their compulsion to destroy the other parent.


Criticisms

Parental Alienation Syndrome, is not currently considered a syndrome by the American Psychological Association, though the organization officially takes no position on its existence.[4] It has also been rejected by parts of the legal community, stating that is "discredited" and that its use should not be admissible in the courtroom.[5] It has been criticized as "junk science" and lacking in empirical studies to back up its existence.[5][4]

The danger that Parental Alienation Syndrome can be misdiagnosed and used by abusive parents as a weapon against appropriately protective parents in order to win custody has been observed, by the APA[6] and Gardner amongst others.[7][8] In 1988, Gardner wrote:

Unfortunately, the term parental alienation syndrome is often used to refer to the animosity that a child may harbor against a parent who has actually abused the child, especially over an extended period. The term has been used to apply to the major categories of parental abuse, namely, physical, sexual, and emotional. Such application indicates a misunderstanding of the parental alienation syndrome. The term is applicable only when the parent has not exhibited anything close to the degree of alienating behavior that might warrant the campaign of denigration exhibited by the child.[9]
In a 1996 report, the APA communicated concern that custody evaluators "may accuse [the mother] of alienating the children from the father and may recommend giving custody to the father in spite of a history of violence."[6]

In particular, empirical research suggests that there is very little false reporting of physical or sexual abuse of children during divorce or custody disputes.[10][11][12]

Gardner's formulation itself has received criticism. According to Kenneth H. Waldron, Ph.D. and David E. Joanis, J.D., "Gardner's conceptualization of the problem and the dynamics underlying the problem proved at best incomplete, if not simplistic and erroneous. He portrays the alienating parent as virtually solely responsible for the dynamic, turning the vulnerable child against the innocent target parent."[13]

Issues of Nomenclature

There have been suggestions that Parental Alienation syndrome should be renamed Parental Alienation Disorder.

In other languages

In Polish though the abbreviation "PAS" is used, the syndrome is commonly called "Syndrom Gardnera",[14] and should therefore not be confused with Gardner's syndrome (which is "Zespół Gardnera" in Polish).




References

^ Kenneth H. Waldron, Ph.D. and David E. Joanis, J.D., "Understanding and Collaboratively Treating Parental Alienation Syndrome" American Journal of Family Law. Vol. 10. 121-133 (1996).

^ Rand, Deirdre Conway. "The Spectrum Of Parental Alienation Syndrome (Part I)". American Journal of Forensic Psychology 15. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.

^ Rand, Deirdre Conway (1997). "The Spectrum Of Parental Alienation Syndrome (Part II)". American Journal of Forensic Psychology 15 (4). Retrieved on 2007-03-11.

^ a b Statement on Parental Alienation Syndrome. American Psychological Association (2005-10-28). Retrieved on 2007-03-11.

^ a b The Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence (2006-07-12). "Child Abuse Experts Applaud Legal Community for Rejecting Parental Alienation Syndrome". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.

^ a b American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence And The Family, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1996

^ Dalton, Clare; Leslie M. Drozd, Hon. Frances Q.F. Wong (2006). "Navigating Custody and Visitation Evaluations in Cases with Domestic Violence:A Judge’s Guide": p. 19. National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.

^ Kenneth Byrne, "Brainwashing in Custody Cases: The Parental Alienation Syndrome" Australian Family Lawyer, v. 4(3), 1989, p.1.

^ Richard A. Gardner, "Recommendations for Dealing with Parents who Induce a Parental Alienation Syndrome in their Children", Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 1998.

^ McDonald, Merrilyn (Spring 1998). The Myth of Epidemic False Allegations of Sexual Abuse in Divorce Cases. Court Review. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.

^ Flood, Michael (March 2005). Fact Sheet #2: The myth of women’s false accusations of domestic violence and misuse of protection orders. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.

^ Galashan, Sarah. "False claims of child abuse rampant: study: Custody battles: 30% of allegations in cases examined unprovable or false", National Post Online (Canada), 1999.

^ Kenneth H. Waldron, Ph.D. and David E. Joanis, J.D., "Understanding and Collaboratively Treating Parental Alienation Syndrome" American Journal of Family Law. Vol. 10. 121-133 (1996).

^ http://www.superkid.pl/index.php/content/view/69/31/

^ Richard A. Gardner, "Recommendations for Dealing with Parents who Induce a Parental Alienation Syndrome in their Children", Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 1998

http://www.fact.on.ca/Info/pas/gardnr98.htm


Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_alienation_syndrome




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