Parental Alienation Syndrome

Getting divorced is never a happy occasion, but responsible parents always want to make sure that their children suffer as little as possible. Using your children as a weapon to get back at your ex-spouse is the vilest thing a parent can do.

Enter the Parental Alienation Syndrome, a term introduced by child psychiatrist Richard Gardner in 1985 to describe signs and symptoms he believed to be exhibited by children who have been alienated from one parent through manipulation by the other parent, usually in the context of child custody disputes[1].

Gardner describes the syndrome as follows: A childhood disorder that arises almost exclusively in the context of disputes over child custody. Its primary manifestation is the child's campaign of denigration against a parent, a campaign without justification. This results from the combination of programming (brainwashing) due to parental indoctrination and the child's own contributions to the vilification of the target parent. When physical or sexual abuse is present, animosity may be justified, and so the explanation of the child's hostility as parental alienation syndrome is inapplicable.

Gardner believed that a set of behaviours that he observed in some families involved in child custody litigation could be used to diagnose psychological manipulation or undue influence of a child by a parent, typically by the other parent who may be attempting to prevent an ongoing relationship between a child and other family members after family separation or divorce.

Proposed symptoms included extreme but unwarranted fear, and disrespect or hostility towards a parent.

The perpetrator may - deliberately or unconsciously - use a variety of tactics to indoctrinate: one parent could tell a child that the other parent hates him and never wants to speak to them, when in reality that parent calls (or tries to call) to speak to the child virtually every day but is refused to do so. A mother might try to convince her daughter to believe and to report to the authorities that the father verbally, physically or sexually abused her. Offenders may blame the other parent for the collapse of the marriage, punish the child for wanting to pursue a relationship with the parent, or move far away so that maintaining a relationship is extremely difficult[2].

Use of the term 'Syndrome' has not generally been accepted by either the medical or legal communities and research has been broadly criticized for lacking scientific validity and reliability. Still, it is a vile abuse of children with potential long lasting effects.

[1] Gardner: Recent trends in divorce and custody litigation in Academy Forum - 1985
[2] Clemente, Padilla-Racero: Are children susceptible to manipulation? The best interest of children and their testimony in Children and Youth Services Review – 2015.