Abstract
Chapter 4 examines an often controversial topic, parental alienation behavior (or commonly described as parental alienation syndrome), and puts forward preliminary evidence for the relational and generational aspects of parental alienating behavior and its possible outcomes. Chapter 4 has four additional aims: (a) to summarize Gardner’s seminal contribution to the parental alienation literature, (b) to explicate recent definitions and characteristics of parental alienation syndrome, (c) to outline the controversies about parental alienation that have accumulated in the literature, and (d) to describe how both relational competence theory and deadly drama triangle can assist clinicians and researchers in understanding antecedents and outcomes of parental alienation behaviors, roles, and processes.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental health disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
Baker, A. J. L. (2007a). Adult children of parental alienation syndrome. New York: W. W. Norton.
Baker, A. J. L. (2007b). Knowledge and attitudes about the parental alienation syndrome: A survey of custody evaluators. American Journal of Family Therapy, 35(1), 1–19. doi:10.1080/01926180600698368.
Baker, A. J. L., & Andre, K. (2008). Working with alienated children and their parents: Suggestions for sound practices for mental health practitioners. The Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association, 11, 10–17.
Baker, A. J. L., & Chambers, J. (2011). Adult recall of childhood exposure to parental conflict: Unpacking the black box of parental alienation. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 52, 55–76. doi:10.1080/10502556.2011.534396.
Baker, A. J. L., & Darnall, D. (2007). A construct study of the eight symptoms of severe parental alienation syndrome: A survey of parental experiences. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 47(1), 55–75. doi:10.1300/J087v47n01_04.
Bancroft, L. (2002). Why does he do that? (20th ed.). New York: Berkley Publishing Group.
Ben-Ami, N., & Baker, A. (2012). The long-term correlates of childhood exposure to parental alienation on adult self-sufficiency and well-being. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 40(2), 169–183. doi:10.1080/01926187.2011.601206.
Bernet, W. (2008). Parental alienation disorder and DSM-V. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 36, 349–366. doi:10.1080/01926180802405513.
Brockie, J. (Performer). (2012). Parental abductions [Television series episode]. In A. Llewelyn (Executive producer), Insight. Australia: SBS. Retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/insight/episode/watchonline/471/Parental-Abductions
Burrill, J. (2006). Reluctance to verify PAS as a legitimate syndrome. In R. Gardner, S. R. Sauber, & D. Lorandos (Eds.), The international handbook of parental alienation syndrome (pp. 323–330). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Connelly, K. (2009). Throwing stones: Parental child abduction through the eyes of the child. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse.
Dabbaugh, M. (2012). Parental kidnapping in America: An historical and cultural analysis. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Detrich, A. (1998). Maureen Dabbaugh: Starving for her daughter’s return. Retrieved from http://www.allandetrich.com/maureenstory.htm
Dutton, D. G. (2007). The abusive personality (9th ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Emery, R. E., Otto, R. K., & O’Donohue, W. T. (2005). A critical assessment of child custody evaluations: Limited science and a flawed system. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 6(1), 1–29. doi:10.1111/j.1529-1006.2005.00020.x.
Garber, B. D. (2011). Parental alienation and the dynamics of the enmeshed parent-child dyad: Adultification, parentification, and infantilization. Family Court Review, 49, 322–335. doi:10.1111/j.1744-1617.2011.01374.x.
Gardner, R. A. (1985). Recent trends in divorce and custody litigation. In Academy forum (Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 3–7).
Gardner, R. A. (1987a). The parental alienation syndrome and the differentiation between fabricated and genuine (10th ed.). Cresskill, NJ: Creative Therapeutics. doi:10.1177/1531244504268711.
Gardner, R. A. (1987b). Sex abuse legitimacy scale. Creskill, NJ: Creative Therapeutics.
Gardner, R. A. (1991). Legal and psychotherapeutic approaches to the three types of parental alienation syndrome families: When psychiatry and the law join forces. Court Review, 28, 14–21.
Gardner, R. A. (1992). Parental alienation syndrome. Cresskill, NJ: Creative Therapeutics.
Gardner, R. A. (2001). Commentary on Kelly and Johnston’s “The alienated child: A reformulation of parental alienation syndrome”. Family Court Review, 39, 611–621.
Godbout, E., & Parent, C. (2012). The life paths and lived experiences of adults who have experienced parental alienation: A retrospective study. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 53, 34–54. doi:10.1080/10502556.2012.635967.
Gordon, R. M., Stoffey, R., & Bottinelli, J. (2008). MMPI-2 findings of primitive defenses in alienating parents. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 36(3), 211–228. doi:10.1080/01926180701643313.
Gottlieb, L. J. (2012). The parental alienation syndrome: A family therapy and collaborative systems approach to amelioration. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Hands, A., & Warshak, R. (2011). Parental alienation among college students. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 39(5), 431–443. doi:10.1080/01926187.2011.575336.
Hartson, J., & Payne, B. (2006). Creating effective parenting plans. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association.
Houchin, T. M., Ranseen, J., Hash, P. A. K., & Bartnicki, D. J. (2012). The parental alienation debate belongs in the courtroom, not in DSM-5. Journal of Academy Psychiatry Law, 40, 127–131.
Johnston, J. R., & Kelly, J. B. (2001). Guest editorial notes in special issue: Alienated children in divorce. Family Court Review, 39(3), 246–248. doi:10.1111/j.174-1617.2001.tb00608.x.
Karpman, S. B. (1968). Fairy tales and script drama analysis. Transactional Analysis Bulletin, 7, 39–43.
Karpman, S. B. (2009). Sex games people play: Intimacy blocks, games, and scripts. Transactional Analysis Journal, 39, 103–116.
Keeshan, C. (2004). Divisive theory stirs up custody battles court orders challenges to ‘parental alienation syndrome.’ The Daily Herald, 1.
Kelly, J. B., & Johnston, J. R. (2001). The alienated child: A reformulation of parental alienation syndrome. Family Court Review, 39, 249–266. doi:10.1111/j.174-1617.2001.tb00609.x.
L’Abate, L. (2009). An attempt to resurrect a neglected pathogenic model in family therapy theory and practice. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 37, 1–11. doi:10.1080/01926180701870163.
L’Abate, L., Cusinato, M., Maino, E., Colesso, W., & Scilletta, C. (2010). Relational competence theory: Research and mental health applications. New York: Springer.
Levesque, R. J. R. (2012). Parental alienation syndrome. In R. J. R. Levesque (Ed.), Encyclopedia of adolescence (Vol. 4, p. 1976). New York: Springer.
Lowenstein, L. F. (2006). The psychological effects and treatment of the parental alienation syndrome. In R. Gardner, S. R. Sauber, & D. Lorandos (Eds.), The international handbook of parental alienation syndrome (pp. 292–301). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Marano, H. E. (2012). The high art of handling problem people. Psychology Today, 45(3), 53–61.
McGlothin, B. L. (2005). Have you seen my mother. Kenner, LA: Taurleo.
Mone, G. J., & Biringen, Z. (2012). Assessing parental alienation: Empirical assessment of college student’ recollections of parental alienation during their childhoods. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 53, 157–177. doi:10.1080/10502556.2012.663265.
Morgan, D. (2012, May 26). Video: Australian TV reports on parental child abduction to Japan [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://seanandrenee.wordpress.com/2012/05/26/video-australian-tv-reports-on-parental-child-abduction-to-japan/
Mowbray, J. (2003). Dangerous diplomacy (10th ed.). Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing.
Owusu-Bempah, K. (2007). Children and separation. New York: Routledge.
Rand, D. C. (1997). The spectrum of parental alienation syndrome. Part 1. American Journal of Forensic Psychology, 15, 23–52.
Rand, D. C. (2011). Parental alienation critics. American Journal of Family Therapy, 39, 48–71. doi:10.1080/01926187.2010.533085.
Reay, K. M. (2007). Psychological distress among adult children of divorce who perceive experiencing parental alienation syndrome in earlier years. Dissertation, Capella University, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Walker, L. E., & Shapiro, D. L. (2010). Parental alienation disorder: Why label children with a mental diagnosis? Journal of Child Custody, 7, 266–286. doi:10.1080/15379418.2010.521041.
Warshak, R. A. (2010). Divorce poison. New York: Harper Collins.
White, G. J. (2005). Child custody A to Z. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hooper, L.M., L’Abate, L., Sweeney, L.G., Gianesini, G., Jankowski, P.J. (2014). Parental Alienation Behaviors. In: Models of Psychopathology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8081-5_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8081-5_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-8080-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-8081-5
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)