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{{Short description|Purported childhood mental disorder}}
{{in use}}
{{About|a purported pediatric mental disorder|the proposed concept |Parental alienation}}
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'''Parental alienation syndrome''' ('''PAS''') is a term introduced by ] ] in 1985<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clemente |first1=Miguel |last2=Padilla-Racero |first2=Dolores |title=Are children susceptible to manipulation? The best interest of children and their testimony |journal=Children and Youth Services Review |date=April 2015 |volume=51 |pages=101–107 |doi=10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.02.003}}</ref> to describe signs and symptoms he believed to be exhibited by children who have been alienated from one parent through ] by the other parent. Proposed symptoms included extreme but unwarranted fear, and disrespect or hostility towards a parent.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal|last=Gardner|first=Richard|date=Summer 1985|title=Recent Trends in Divorce and Custody Litigation|url=http://fact.on.ca/Info/pas/gardnr85.pdf|journal=Academy Forum|volume=29|issue=2|pages=3–7}}</ref> Gardner believed that a set of behaviors 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.<ref name="Gardner20013">{{cite journal|last=Gardner|first=RA|author-link=Richard A. Gardner|year=2001|title=Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS): Sixteen Years Later|url=http://www.fact.on.ca/Info/pas/gard01b.htm|journal=Academy Forum|volume=45|issue=1|pages=10–12|access-date=2009-03-31}}</ref> Use of the term "syndrome" has not been accepted by either the medical or legal communities and Gardner's research has been broadly criticized by legal and mental health scholars for lacking scientific validity and reliability.<ref name="Faller1998">{{cite journal |last=Faller |first=KC |year=1998 |title=The parental alienation syndrome: What is it and what data support it? |journal=Child Maltreatment |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=100–115 |url=http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/docs/Faller1998.pdf |doi=10.1177/1077559598003002005|hdl=2027.42/67847 |s2cid=143768958 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Bruch2001">{{cite journal |last=Bruch |first=CS |year=2001 |title=Parental Alienation Syndrome and Parental Alienation: Getting It Wrong in Child Custody Cases |journal=Family Law Quarterly |volume=35 |issue=527 |pages=527–552 |url=http://www.law.ucdavis.edu/faculty/Bruch/files/fam353_06_Bruch_527_552.pdf }}</ref><ref name="Wood1994">{{cite journal |last=Wood |first=CL |year=1994 |title=The parental alienation syndrome: a dangerous aura of reliability |journal=Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review |volume=29 |pages=1367–1415 |url=http://fact.on.ca/Info/pas/wood94.htm |access-date=2008-04-12}}</ref><ref name="Hoult2006" />


==Initial description==
'''Parental alienation syndrome''' (abbreviated as '''PAS''') is a controversial syndrome formulated by ] in which a child, on an ongoing basis belittles and insults a parent without justification, due to the ] of one parent. PAS is believed to arise partly due to a ] dispute, and in part as a result of the child's own behavior.<ref name=Bernet2008>{{cite journal | last=Bernet | first=William | title= Parental Alienation Disorder and DSM-V | publisher = The American Journal of Family Therapy | volume = 36 | issue = 5 | year = 2008 | pages = 349-366 | doi = 10.1080/01926180802405513 |url = http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a904034221~db=all~jumptype=rss}}</ref><ref name = Gardner2001>{{cite journal | last = Gardner | first = RA | authorlink = Richard A. Gardner | title = Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS): Sixteen Years Later | year = 2001 | journal = Academy Forum | volume = 45 | issue = 1 | url = http://www.fact.on.ca/Info/pas/gard01b.htm | pages = 10-12 | accessdate = 2009-03-31 }}</ref> PAS has been extensively criticized by legal and mental health scholars for lacking scientific validity and reliability.<ref name=Bernet2008/><ref name=Bruch2001>{{cite journal | last = Bruch | first = CS | coauthors = | year = 2001 | title = Parental Alienation Syndrome and Parental Alienation: Getting It Wrong in Child Custody Cases | journal = Family Law Quarterly | volume = 35 | issue = 527 | pages = 527-552 | url = http://www.law.ucdavis.edu/faculty/Bruch/files/fam353_06_Bruch_527_552.pdf | format = pdf }}</ref><ref name=Wood1994>{{cite journal | last = Wood | first = CL | year =1994 | title = The parental alienation syndrome: a dangerous aura of reliability | journal = Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review | volume = 29 | pages = 1367–1415 | url = http://fact.on.ca/Info/pas/wood94.htm | accessdate = 2008-04-12 }}</ref><ref name=Hoult2006/> PAS is not ] in courts in the ], but has appeared in some ] disputes in the ] and ].<ref name=Fortin2003>{{cite book | last = Fortin | first = Jane | title = Children's Rights and the Developing Law | publisher = ] | year = 2003 | pages = | isbn = 9780521606486 }}</ref><ref name=Bainham2005>{{cite book | last = Bainham | first = Andrew | title = Children: The Modern Law | publisher = Jordans | year = 2005 | pages = | isbn = 9780853089391 }}</ref>
Parental alienation syndrome is a term coined by child psychiatrist ] drawing upon his clinical experiences in the early 1980s.<ref name=":03" /><ref name="Gardner20013" /> The concept of one parent attempting to separate their child from the other parent as punishment or part of a divorce have been described since at least the 1940s,<ref name="Bernet2008">{{cite journal |last=Bernet |first=W |title=Parental Alienation Disorder and DSM-V |journal=The American Journal of Family Therapy |volume=36 |issue=5 |year=2008 |pages=349–366 |doi=10.1080/01926180802405513|s2cid=143330843 }}</ref><ref name=Warshak2001/> but Gardner was the first to define a specific syndrome. In his 1985 paper,<ref name=":03" /> he defined PAS as{{blockquote|...a disorder that arises primarily in the context of child-custody disputes. Its primary manifestation is the child's campaign of denigration against the parent, a campaign that has no justification. The disorder results from the combination of indoctrinations by the alienating parent and the child's own contributions to the vilification of the alienated parent.<ref name="Gardner20013" />}}He also stated that the indoctrination may be deliberate or unconscious on the part of the alienating parent.<ref name="Gardner2001b3">{{cite journal|last=Gardner|first=Richard|year=2004|title=Commentary on Kelly and Johnston's The Alienated Child: A Reformulation of Parental Alienation Syndrome|url=http://coleur.googlepages.com/GardnerrRichardACommentaryonKellyand.pdf|journal=Family Court Review|volume=42|issue=4|pages=611–21|doi=10.1177/1531244504268711}}</ref><ref name="Baker2007" /> Gardner initially believed that parents (usually mothers) made false accusations of ] and ] against the other parent (usually fathers) in order to prevent further contact between them.<ref name="Caplan20043">{{Cite book|title=Bias in psychiatric diagnosis|last=Caplan|first=PJ|publisher=]|year=2004|isbn=9780765700018|editor=Caplan PJ|pages=|chapter=What is it that's being called Parental Alienation Syndrome|editor2=Cosgrove L}}</ref><ref name="Brown20073">{{Cite book|title=Child Abuse and Family Law: Understanding the Issues Facing Human Service and Legal Professionals|last=Brown|first=T|author2=Renata A|publisher=]|year=2007|isbn=9781865087313|pages=}}</ref> While Gardner initially described the mother as the alienator in 90% of PAS cases, he later stated both parents were equally likely to alienate.<ref name="Jaffe20023">{{Cite book|title=Child Custody & Domestic Violence|last=Jaffe|first=PG|author2=Lemon NKD|author3=Poisson SE|publisher=]|year=2002|isbn=9780761918264|pages=}}</ref><ref name="Gardner2002a3">{{cite journal|last=Gardner|first=RA|author-link=Richard A. Gardner|year=2002|title=Denial of the Parental Alienation Syndrome Also Harms Women|journal=American Journal of Family Therapy|volume=30|issue=3|pages=191–202|doi=10.1080/019261802753577520|s2cid=14333814}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Adult children of parental alienation syndrome: breaking the ties that bind|author=Baker AJL|publisher=]|year=2007|isbn=978-0-393-70519-5|location=New York}}</ref> He also later stated that in his experience accusations of sexual abuse were not present in the vast majority of cases of PAS.<ref name="Dallam19993">{{Cite book|chapter-url=http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/dallam/3.html|title=Expose: The failure of family courts to protect children from abuse in custody disputes|last=Dallam|first=SJ|publisher=Our Children Our Children Charitable Foundation|year=1999|editor=St. Charles E|chapter=The Parental Alienation Syndrome: Is It Scientific?|editor2=Crook L}}</ref>


==Overview== ==Characteristics==
Gardner described PAS as a preoccupation by the child with criticism and deprecation of a parent.<ref name="Ackerman">{{Cite book|last=Ackerman, Ph.D |first=Marc J. |title=Clinician's Guide to Child Custody Evaluations |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |year=2002 |pages=73–82 |isbn=9780471150916 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q9E_rg94Cs4C&pg=PA73}}</ref> Gardner stated that PAS occurs when, in the context of child custody disputes, one parent deliberately or unconsciously attempts to alienate a child from the other parent.<ref name="jaffe">{{Cite book|last=Jaffe |first=Peter G. |author2=Lemon, Nancy K. D. |author3=Poisson, Samantha E. |title=Child Custody & Domestic Violence |publisher=] |year=2002 |pages=52–54 |isbn=9780761918264 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bbZmp7ALOq4C&pg=PA52}}</ref> According to Gardner, PAS is characterized by a cluster of eight symptoms that appear in the child. These include a campaign of denigration and hatred against the targeted parent; weak, absurd, or frivolous rationalizations for this deprecation and hatred; lack of the usual ambivalence about the targeted parent; strong assertions that the decision to reject the parent is theirs alone (the "independent-thinker phenomenon"); reflexive support of the favored parent in the conflict; lack of guilt over the treatment of the alienated parent; use of borrowed scenarios and phrases from the alienating parent; and the denigration not just of the targeted parent but also to that parent's extended family and friends.<ref name="Baker2007"/><ref name="Gardner2002a3"/><ref name="Walker2004"/> Despite frequent citations of these factors in scientific literature, the value ascribed to these factors has not been explored with professionals in the field.<ref name=Bow2009>{{cite journal |last=Bow |first=JN |author2=Gould JW |author3=Flens JR |year=2009 |title=Examining Parental Alienation in Child Custody Cases: A Survey of Mental Health and Legal Professionals |journal=The American Journal of Family Therapy |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=127–145 |doi=10.1080/01926180801960658|s2cid=45543509 }}</ref>
The initial research on PAS was performed primarily by the originator of the theory, ], who ] most of this work using his own company. Gardner defined PAS in a 1985 journal as "…a disorder that arises primarily in the context of child-custody disputes. Its primary manifestation is the child’s campaign of denigration against the parent, a campaign that has no justification. The disorder results from the combination of indoctrinations by the alienating parent and the child’s own contributions to the vilification of the alienated parent"<ref name = Gardner2001/> also stating that the indoctrination may be deliberate or unconscious on the part of the alienating parent.


Gardner and others divided PAS into mild, moderate and severe levels. The number and severity of the eight symptoms included in the syndrome were hypothesized to increase through the different levels. Recommendations for management differed according to the severity level of the child's symptoms. While a diagnosis of PAS is made based on the child's symptoms, Gardner stated that any change in custody should be based primarily on the symptom level of the alienating parent.<ref name="Gardner2006">{{Cite book|last=Gardner |first=Richard A. |title=The International Handbook of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Conceptual, Clinical And Legal Considerations |editor=Gardner, Richard A. |editor2=Sauber, S. Richard |editor3=Lorandos, Demosthenes |publisher=Charles C. Thomas |year=2006 |pages=5–11 |chapter=Introduction |isbn=978-0398076474}}</ref>
PAS is thought to apply only in situations where there is no actual abuse or neglect. In cases of actual abuse or neglect, Gardner considered ] the appropriate term because the child's alienation is justified.<ref name=Hoult2006 >{{cite journal | last = Hoult | first = JA | year = 2006 | title = The Evidentiary Admissibility of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Science, Law, and Policy | journal = Children's Legal Rights Journal | volume = 26 | issue = 1 | url = http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=910267 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Gardner | first = RA | authorlink = Richard A. Gardner | title = Recommendations for Dealing with Parents who Induce a Parental Alienation Syndrome in their Children | journal = Journal of Divorce & Remarriage | year = 1998 | volume = 28 | issue = 3/4 | pages = 1–21 | doi = 10.1300/J087v28n03_01}}</ref>). Gardner divided PAS according to severity, with mild and moderate cases requiring ] with the most severe cases requiring the alienating parent and child be separated (also suggesting the alienating parent may be incarcerated).<ref name=Jaffe2002/><ref name=Ackerman2001>{{cite book | author = Ackerman MJ | title = Clinician's guide to child custody evaluations | publisher = ] | location = New York | year = 2001 | pages = | isbn = 0-471-39260-X | oclc = | doi = | accessdate = }}</ref> Researchers initially believed that mothers were the alienating parent in 90% of these cases, but Garner and others stated have stated that fathers and mothers are equally likely to be the alienating parent.<ref name=Jaffe2002>{{cite book | last = Jaffe | first = PG | coauthors = Lemon NKD; Poisson SE | title = Child Custody & Domestic Violence | publisher = ] | year = 2002 | pages = | isbn = 9780761918264 }}</ref><ref name=Dallam1999>{{cite book |last=Dallam | first = SJ | year =1999 | editors = St. Charles E; Crook L | title = Expose: The failure of family courts to protect children from abuse in custody disputes | publisher =Our Children Our Children Charitable Foundation | chapter = The Parental Alienation Syndrome: Is It Scientific? | url = http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/dallam/3.html}}</ref> Gardner and others state that children have been harmed by PAS, and that legal acceptance of its evaluation could be used to identify and help these children.<ref name="Gardner2001b">{{cite journal | last = Gardner | first = Richard | title = Commentary on Kelly and Johnston's The Alienated Child: A Reformulation of Parental Alienation Syndrome | journal = Family Court Review | volume = 42 | issue = 4 | pages = 611-21 | year = 2004 | format = pdf | url = http://coleur.googlepages.com/GardnerrRichardACommentaryonKellyand.pdf}}</ref>


In mild cases, it was alleged that there was some parental programming against the targeted parent, but little or no disruption of visitation, and Gardner did not recommend court-ordered visitation.
PAS is not recognized by the ] or the ], and is not included in the '']'' (DSM).<ref name=Hoult2006 /><ref name=Dallam1999/><ref name=Comeford2009>{{cite book | last = Comeford | first = L | title = Encyclopedia of Gender and Society | editor = O'Brien J | publisher = ] | date = 2009 | volume = 1 | pages = | chapter = Fatherhood Movements | isbn = 9781412909167 | url = }}</ref><ref name = Caplan2004>{{cite book | last = Caplan | first = PJ | title = Bias in psychiatric diagnosis | editor = Caplan PJ; Cosgrove L | publisher=] | year = 2004 | pages = | chapter = What is it that's being called Parental Alienation Syndrome | isbn = 9780765700018 | url = }}</ref> The ] declined to indicate a position on PAS, but raised concerns over its lack of supporting data and how the term is used.<ref name=APA1996>{{cite web | title = APA Statement on Parental Alienation Syndrome | url = http://www.apa.org/releases/passyndrome.html | publisher = ] | year =1996 | location =Washington, DC | accessdate = 2009-03-31 }}</ref> The APA's 1996 Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family expressed concern that custody evaluators use PAS as a means of giving custody to fathers despite of a history of violence, a concern shared by other commentators.<ref name=Bruch2001/><ref name= Sparta2006/><ref>{{cite web | title =American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence And The Family | url= http://www.apa.org/pi/pii/familyvio/issue5.html | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20000307233013/www.apa.org/pi/pii/familyvio/issue5.html | archivedate = 2000-03-07 | publisher= ] | year=1996}}</ref>


In moderate cases, it was alleged that more parental programming occurred resulting in greater resistance to visits with the targeted parent. Gardner recommended that primary custody remain with the programming parent if the brainwashing was expected to be discontinued, but if not, that custody should be transferred to the targeted parent. In addition, therapy with the child to stop alienation and remediate the damaged relationship with the targeted parent was recommended.
Supporters of PAS have advocated for April 25th to be recognized as ].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/opinion/Parental_alienation_can_tear_a_family_apart_43638582.html |title=Red Deer Advocate - Parental alienation can tear a family apart | work = ] |accessdate=2009-05-06 | last = Sterling-Anosh |first= M | date = 2009-04-25 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.barrieadvance.com/barrieadvance/article/134299 |title='Bat Girl' arrested after publicity stunt | work = ] |accessdate=2009-05-06 |last= Vanderlinde |first= E | date = 2009-04-25}}</ref>


In severe cases, in which children were found to display most or all of the eight symptoms and refused to visit the targeted parent, possibly threatening to run away or engage in self-harm if forced to visit the other parent, Gardner recommended that the child be removed from the alienating parent's home into a transition home before moving into the home of the targeted parent.
==History==
The ]s of PAS have been described in the mental health literature since the 1940s, and were easily recognized by mental health professionals when Gardner first coined the term.<ref name=Bernet2008/><ref name = Warshak2001/>><ref name=Waldron1996/> PAS was first defined by in a 1985 journal article by Gardner entitled "Recent Trends in Divorce and Custody Litigation"<ref name = Gardner1985>{{cite journal | url = http://www.fact.on.ca/Info/pas/gardnr85.htm | last = Gardner | first = RA | authorlink = Richard A. Gardner | title = Recent Trends in Divorce and Custody Litigation | journal = Academy Forum | volume = 29 | issue = 2 | pages = 3-7 | year = 1985 | accessdate = 2009-03-31 }}</ref> drawing upon his clinical experiences since the early 1980s.<ref name = Gardner2001/> and repeated this definition as unchanged in 2001. Originally PAS was conceived of as an explanation for the increase in the number of reports of child abuse in the 1980s.<ref name=Jaffe2002/><ref name=Dallam1999/> Initially Gardner believed parents (usually the mother) made false accusations of ] and ] against the other parent in order to prevent further contact between them,<ref name = Caplan2004/><ref name=Brown2007>{{cite book | last = Brown | first = T | coauthors = Renata A | title = Child Abuse and Family Law: Understanding the Issues Facing Human Service and Legal Professionals | publisher = ] | date = 2007 | pages = | isbn = 9781865087313 | url =}}</ref> but later Gardner qualified that in his experience accusations of sexual abuse were not present in the vast majority of cases of PAS<ref name=Dallam1999/> and that fathers and mothers were equally likely to be the alienating parent.<ref name=Gardner2002>{{cite journal | last = Gardner | first =RA | authorlink = Richard A. Gardner | year = 2002 | title = Denial of the Parental Alienation Syndrome Also Harms Women | journal = American Journal of Family Therapy | volume = 30 | issue = 3 | pages = 191–202 | doi = 10.1080/019261802753577520}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Baker AJL |title=Adult children of parental alienation syndrome: breaking the ties that bind |publisher= ] |location=New York |year=2007 |pages= |isbn=0-393-70519-6 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}</ref> Gardner stated that by 1998, an increase in the awareness of PAS had lead to it being misapplied as a legal maneuver.<ref name=Gardner2001b/>

Gardner died in 2003, but later scholars have continued to research and publish about PAS.


In addition to modification of custody, Gardner recommended therapy for the child.<ref name="Walker2004"/><ref name="Gardner2006"/> Gardner's proposed intervention for moderate and severe PAS, which include court-ordered transfer to the alienated parent, fines, house arrest, and incarceration, have been critiqued for their punitive nature towards the alienating parent and alienated child, and for the risk of abuse of power and violation of their civil rights.<ref name="Bala2007">{{cite journal |last=Bala |first=Nicholas |author2=Fidler, Barbara-Jo |author3=Goldberg, Dan |author4= Houston, Claire |year=2007 |title=Alienated Children and Parental Separation: Legal Responses in Canada's Family Courts |journal=Queen's Law Journal |volume=38 |pages=79–138 |url= https://scholar.google.ca/scholar?q=info:pwdqOnkrT8IJ:scholar.google.com/&output=viewport&pg=1}}</ref><ref name="Johnston2004">{{cite journal |last=Johnston |first=JR |author2=Kelly JB |year=2004 |title=Rejoinder to Gardner's Commentary on Kelly and Johnston's 'The Alienated Child: A Reformulation of Parental Alienation Syndrome' |journal=Family Court Review |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=622–628 |doi=10.1111/j.174-1617.2004.tb01328.x |url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118817173/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105070723/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118817173/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-01-05}}</ref> With time, Gardner revised his views and expressed less support for the most aggressive management strategies.<ref name="Bala2007"/>


==Reception== ==Reception==
Gardner's original formulation, which labeled mothers almost exclusively as the alienating parent, was endorsed by fathers' rights groups, as it allowed fathers to explain the reluctance of their children to visit them and assign blame to their former wives.<ref name="Bala2007"/><ref name="Ottaman2008"/> In contrast, women's groups criticized the syndrome, concerned that it permitted abusers to claim that allegations of abuse by mother or child were reflective of brainwashing.<ref name="Bala2007"/> Gardner himself emphasized that PAS only applied in situations where there was no actual abuse or neglect had not occurred,<ref name=Hoult2006>{{cite journal |last=Hoult |first=JA |year=2006 |title=The Evidentiary Admissibility of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Science, Law, and Policy |journal=Children's Legal Rights Journal |volume=26 |issue=1 |ssrn=910267}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Gardner |first=RA |author-link=Richard A. Gardner |title=Recommendations for Dealing with Parents who Induce a Parental Alienation Syndrome in their Children |journal=Journal of Divorce & Remarriage |year=1998 |volume=28 |issue=3/4 |pages=1–21 |doi=10.1300/J087v28n03_01}}</ref> but by 1998, noted an increase in the awareness of PAS had led to an increase in its misapplication as an exculpatory legal maneuver.<ref name="Gardner2001b">{{cite journal|last=Gardner|first=Richard|year=2004|title=Commentary on Kelly and Johnston's The Alienated Child: A Reformulation of Parental Alienation Syndrome|url=http://coleur.googlepages.com/GardnerrRichardACommentaryonKellyand.pdf|journal=Family Court Review|volume=42|issue=4|pages=611–21|doi=10.1177/1531244504268711}}</ref>
PAS has not been accepted by experts in ], ] or the study of ]<ref name = Wood1994/> or legal scholars.<ref name = Hoult2006/> However, Psychiatrist William Bernet states that the phenomena of PAS is almost universally accepted by medical health professionals.<ref name=Bernet2008/> PAS has been extensively criticized by members of legal and mental health community, who state that PAS should not be ] in child custody hearings based on both science and law.<ref name=Drozd2009>{{cite book | last = Drozd | first = L | title = The Scientific Basis of Child Custody Decisions, 2nd Edition | editor = Galatzer-Levy RM; Kraus L & Galatzer-Levy J | publisher = ] | date = 2009 | chapter = Rejection in cases of abuse or alienation in divorcing families | isbn = 9780470038581 | pages = | url=}}</ref><ref name=Bernet2008/><ref name=Bruch2001/><ref name=Wood1994/><ref name = Walker2004>{{cite journal | title = A Critical Analysis of Parental Alienation Syndrome and Its Admissibility in the Family Court | journal = Journal of Child Custody | last = Walker | first = LEA | coauthors = Brantley KL; Rigsbee JA | volume = 1 | issue = 2 | year = 2004 | doi = 10.1300/J190v01n02_03 | pages = 47-74 | url =}}</ref> The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges rejected PAS and recommended it not be used for the consideration of child custody issues.<ref name=Ottaman2008>{{cite book | last = Ottaman | first = A | coauthors = Lee R | title = Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence | editor = Edleson JL; Renzetti, CM | publisher = ] | year = 2008 | pages = | chapter = Fathers' rights movement | isbn = 978-1412918008 | url = }}</ref>


PAS has been cited in high-conflict divorce and child custody cases, particularly as a defense against accusations of domestic violence or sexual abuse.<ref name="Bruch2001"/><ref name=Walker2004/> The status of the syndrome, and thus its admissibility in the testimony of experts, has been the subject of dispute, with challenges raised about its acceptance by professionals in the field, whether it follows a scientific methodology that is testable, whether it has been tested and has a known error rate, and the extent to which the theory has been published and peer-reviewed.<ref name =Walker2004/>
===Relation to the ''DSM''===

PAS is not included in the '']'' (DSM).<ref name=Hoult2006 /><ref name=Dallam1999/><ref name=Comeford2009/><ref name = Caplan2004/> In 2002, Gardner published a letter in ] urging therapists, parents and lawyers to write to the committees working on the fifth publication of the DSM to give evidence that it exists and to include PAS in the next version. Gardner stated that it was not included in the 1994 release of the DSM due to a lack of peer reviewed articles, but since then many new publications and court rulings have been released.<ref>{{citation | last = Gardner | first = RA | authorlink = Richard A. Gardner | title = PAS and the DSM-V: A Call for Action | publisher = ] | date = 2002-10-06 | accessdate = 2009-05-06 | url = http://mensnewsdaily.com/archive/g/gardner/gardner100602.htm}}</ref> In 2008, Psychiatrist William Bernet provided arguments for including parental alienation disorder in the next edition of the DSM.<ref name=Bernet2008 />
PAS has not been accepted by experts in ], ] or the study of ]<ref name="Wood1994"/> or legal scholars.<ref name=Hoult2006/> PAS has been extensively criticized by members of the legal and mental health community, who state that PAS should not be ] in child custody hearings based on both science and law.<ref name=Bruch2001/><ref name=Wood1994/><ref name=Hoult2006/><ref name=Walker2004>{{cite journal |title=A Critical Analysis of Parental Alienation Syndrome and Its Admissibility in the Family Court |journal=Journal of Child Custody |last=Walker |first=LEA |author2=Brantley KL |author3=Rigsbee JA |volume=1 |issue=2 |year=2004 |doi= 10.1300/J190v01n02_03 |pages=47–74|s2cid=145303306 }}</ref><ref name=Drozd2009>{{Cite book|last=Drozd |first=L |title=The Scientific Basis of Child Custody Decisions, 2nd Edition |editor= Galatzer-Levy RM |editor2=Kraus L |editor3=Galatzer-Levy J |publisher=] |year=2009 |chapter=Rejection in cases of abuse or alienation in divorcing families |isbn=9780470038581 |pages=}}</ref>

No professional association has recognized PAS as a relevant medical syndrome or mental disorder. PAS is not listed in the ] of the ]. It is not recognized by the ] or the ].<ref name=Hoult2006/><ref name=Dallam1999>{{Cite book|last=Dallam|first=SJ|year=1999|editor=St. Charles E |editor2=Crook L|title=Expose: The failure of family courts to protect children from abuse in custody disputes|publisher=Our Children Our Children Charitable Foundation |chapter=The Parental Alienation Syndrome: Is It Scientific? |chapter-url= http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/dallam/3.html}}</ref><ref name=Caplan2004>{{Cite book|last=Caplan|first=PJ|title=Bias in psychiatric diagnosis|editor=Caplan PJ |editor2=Cosgrove L|publisher=]|year=2004|pages=|chapter=What is it that's being called Parental Alienation Syndrome|isbn=9780765700018}}</ref><ref name=Comeford2009>{{Cite book|last=Comeford|first=L|title=Encyclopedia of Gender and Society|editor=O'Brien J|publisher=]|year=2009|volume=1|pages=|chapter=Fatherhood Movements|isbn=9781412909167}}</ref> The ] declined to give a position on PAS, but raised concerns over its lack of supporting data and how the term is used.<ref name=APA1996>{{Cite web|title=APA Statement on Parental Alienation Syndrome|url=http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2008/01/pas-syndrome.aspx|publisher=]|year=1996|location=Washington, DC|access-date=2009-03-31}}</ref> The APA's 1996 Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family expressed concern that custody evaluators use PAS as a means of giving custody to fathers despite a history of violence, a concern shared by other commentators.<ref name=Bruch2001/><ref name="Sparta2006">{{Cite book|title=Forensic Mental Health Assessment of Children and Adolescents|last=Sparta|first=SN|author2=Koocher GP|publisher=]|year=2006|isbn=9780195145847|pages=, }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title = American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence And The Family |url = http://www.apa.org/pi/pii/familyvio/issue5.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20000307233013/http://www.apa.org/pi/pii/familyvio/issue5.html |archive-date = 2000-03-07 |publisher = ] |year = 1996 |url-status = dead }}</ref> The United States National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges rejected PAS, recommending it not be used for the consideration of child-custody issues.<ref name=Ottaman2008>{{Cite book|last=Ottman|first=A|author2=Lee R|title=Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence|editor=Edleson JL|editor2= Renzetti, CM|publisher=] |year=2008|pages=|chapter=Fathers' rights movement|isbn=978-1412918008}}</ref>

The ] of PAS was rejected by an expert review panel and the ] in the ]<ref name="Fortin2003"/><ref name="Bainham2005"/> and ] recommends against its use. PAS has been mentioned in some ] cases in the ]. Gardner portrayed PAS as well accepted by the judiciary and having set a variety of ]s, but legal analysis of the actual cases indicates that as of 2006 this claim was incorrect.

===Exclusion from the DSM===
PAS is not included in the ]'s '']'' (DSM-IV).<ref name=Hoult2006/><ref name=Dallam1999/><ref name=Caplan2004/><ref name= Comeford2009/> Gardner and others lobbied for its inclusion in the DSM-V revision.<ref name=Gardner2002b/><ref name="Rotstein2010">{{cite news |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10046/1036018-114.stm |title=Mental health professionals getting update on definitions |last=Rotstein |first=Gary |date=February 15, 2010 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |access-date=2 March 2010}}</ref> In 2001, Gardner argued that when the DSM-IV was released, there was insufficient research to include PAS, but since then, there have been enough scientific articles and attention to PAS that it merited being taken seriously.<ref name=Gardner2002b>{{Cite book |last=Gardner |first=RA |author-link=Richard A. Gardner |title=PAS and the DSM-5: A Call for Action |publisher=Men's News Daily |date=2002-10-06 |access-date=2010-03-20 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20031220023819/http://mensnewsdaily.com/archive/g/gardner/gardner100602.htm | url= http://mensnewsdaily.com/archive/g/gardner/gardner100602.htm |archive-date= 2003-12-20}}</ref>

A survey of American custody evaluators, published in 2007, found that half of the respondents disagreed with its inclusion, while a third thought it should be.<ref name="Baker2007">{{cite journal |last=Baker |first=AJL |year=2007 |title=Knowledge and Attitudes About the Parental Alienation Syndrome: A Survey of Custody Evaluators |journal=American Journal of Family Therapy |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1080/01926180600698368|s2cid=143847423 }}</ref> A related formulation, named parental alienation disorder, has been proposed, suggesting that inclusion of PAS in the DSM-5 would promote research and appropriate treatment, as well as reduce misuse of a valid and reliable construct.<ref name="Bernet2008"/> In December 2012, the American Psychiatric Association announced that PAS would not be included in the DSM-V revision.<ref>{{cite web|title=American Psychiatric Association Board of Trustees Approves DSM-5-Diagnostic manual passes major milestone before May 2013 publication|url=http://dsmfacts.org/materials/american-psychiatric-association-board-of-trustees-approves-dsm-5/|publisher=American Psychiatric Association|date=1 December 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005021044/http://dsmfacts.org/materials/american-psychiatric-association-board-of-trustees-approves-dsm-5/|archive-date=5 October 2013}}</ref> However, there are now diagnoses included in DSM-V that reflect the impact of parental behavior upon children, in particular parent-child relational problem and child affected by parental relationship distress.<ref name="Slatton2015">{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/traci-l-slatton/lost-parents-when-high-co_b_7400462.html |title=Lost Parents: When High Conflict Divorce Leads to Parental Alienation |last=Slatton |first=Traci |date=May 26, 2015 |work=Huffington Post |access-date=2015-06-06}}</ref> The key distinction is that the diagnoses listed in the DSM relate to the mental health of the diagnosed individual, as opposed to attempting to describe a disorder of the relationship between different people, whether parent-child or parent-parent.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Grohol|first1=John M.|title=Parental Alienation: Disorder or Not?|url=https://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/09/22/parental-alienation-disorder-or-not/|website=PsychCentral|publisher=Psych Central|access-date=4 May 2017}}</ref>


===Scientific status=== ===Scientific status===
Gardner's formulation of PAS is critiqued as lacking a scientific basis,<ref name="Emery2005">{{cite journal |last=Emery |first=RE |title=Parental Alienation Syndrome: Proponents bear the burden of proof |journal=Family Court Review |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=8–13 |year=2005 |url=http://www.ncdsv.org/images/PASProponentsBeartheBurdenofProof_Emery_2005.pdf |doi=10.1111/j.1744-1617.2005.00002.x|citeseerx=10.1.1.636.2641 }}</ref><ref name="bond2008">{{cite journal |last=Bond |first=Richard |year=2008 |title=The Lingering Debate Over the Parental Alienation Syndrome Phenomenon |publisher=Journal of Child Custody |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=37–54}}</ref><ref name="Martindale2008">{{Cite book|author1=Martindale, David |author2=Gould, Jonathan W. |title=The Art and Science of Child Custody Evaluations |publisher=The Guilford Press |location=New York |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-59385-488-1}}</ref> and as a ] whose proponents have failed to meet the scientific ] to merit acceptance.<ref name="Hoult2006"/><ref name="Emery2005"/><ref name= "Martindale2008"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Houchin |last2= Ranseen |last3= Hash |last4= Bartnicki|first1= TM |first2= J |first3= PAK |first4= DJ |title= The Parental Alienation Debate Belongs in the Courtroom, Not in DSM-5 |journal= Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law |volume= 40 |issue= 1 |year= 2012 |pages= 127–131 |pmid= 22396350 |url= http://www.jaapl.org/content/40/1/127.full}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last1= Pepitona |first1= M. Brianna |last2= Alvis |first2= Lindsey J. |last3= Allen | first3= Kenneth|last4= Logid |first4= Gregory |title= Is Parental Alienation Disorder a Valid Concept? Not According to Scientific Evidence. A Review of Parental Alienation, DSM-5 and ICD-11 by William Bernet. |journal= Journal of Child Sexual Abuse |volume= 21 |issue= 12 |year= 2012 |pages= 244–253 |doi=10.1080/10538712.2011.628272|s2cid= 145548625 }}</ref> The first publications about PAS were ] and not ]ed,<ref name=Warshak2001/> and though subsequent articles have been published in peer reviewed journals, most have consisted of ] in the form of ];<ref name="Ackerman" /><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.ndaa.org/publications/newsletters/update_volume_16_number_6_2003.html |title=Parental Alienation Syndrome: What Professionals Need to Know Part 1 of 2 Update |volume=16 |issue=6 |year=2003 |last=Ragland |first=ER |author2=Fields H |journal=American Prosecutors Research Institute Newsletter |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425065901/http://www.ndaa.org/publications/newsletters/update_volume_16_number_6_2003.html |archive-date=2009-04-25 }}</ref> in addition, the limited research into PAS has lacked evidence of its ] and ].<ref name=Bruch2001/><ref name=Wood1994/> The lack of objective research and ], ], and independent publication has led to claims that PAS is ] or junk science.<ref name="Faller1998"/><ref name="Emery2005" /><ref name= "bond2008"/> Proponents of PAS concur that large scale systematic ] into PAS's validity and reliability are required,<ref name="Warshak2001"/><ref name="Baker2007"/><ref name="Warshak2003">{{cite journal |last=Warshak |first=Richard A. |url= http://www.warshak.com/pdf/Warshak-CR27-BringingSense.pdf |title= Bringing sense to Parental Alienation: A Look at the Disputes and the Evidence |journal=Family Law Quarterly |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=273–301}}</ref> supplementing a single small study in 2004 which suggested practitioners could come to a consensus based on written reports.<ref name=Drozd2009/>
Experts critical of PAS describe it as a ] that has not met the ] required to demonstrate that it is true, state that it has not been replicated except by its proponents<ref name = Emery2005>{{cite journal | last = Emery | first = RE | title = Parental Alienation Syndrome: Proponents bear the burden of proof | journal = Family Court Review | volume = 43 | issue = 1 | pages = 8-13 | year = 2005 | format = pdf | url = http://www.ncdsv.org/images/PASProponentsBeartheBurdenofProof_Emery_2005.pdf }}</ref> and research by other professionals has not substantiated some of its tenets.<ref name = Faller1998>{{cite journal | last = Faller | first = KC | year =1998 | title = The parental alienation syndrome: What is it and what data support it? | journal = Child Maltreatment | volume = 3 | issue = 2 | pages = 100–115 | url = http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/docs/Faller1998.pdf | format = pdf | doi = 10.1177/1077559598003002005}}</ref> Also cited are a variety of theoretical and practical problems (confusing a child's developmental reaction to a divorce with ], a vast overstatement of the number of ], ignoring the literature suggesting most allegations of child sexual abuse are well founded, ignoring efforts by one parent to protect their child from the abusive other parent, exaggerations of the damaging effects of parental alienation on children and proposing an unsupported and endangering remedy for PAS)<ref name = Bruch2001/><ref name = Drodz2009>{{cite book | last = Drozd | first = L | title = The Scientific Basis of Child Custody Decisions, 2nd Edition | editor = Galatzer-Levy RM; Kraus L & Galatzer-Levy J | publisher = ] | date = 2009 | chapter = Rejection in cases of abuse or alienation in divorcing families | isbn = 9780470038581 | pages = | url=}}</ref> Concern has also been expressed that PAS lacks adequate scientific support to be considered a ], and that Gardner has promoted PAS as a syndrome based on a vague clustering of behaviors.<ref name = Warshak2001/><ref name = Caplan2004/>


The theoretical foundation of PAS has been described as incomplete, simplistic and erroneous for ignoring the multiple factors (including the behaviors of the child, parents and other family members) that may contribute to parental alienation, family dysfunction and a breakdown in ] between a parent and a child.<ref name=Warshak2001>{{cite journal |last=Warshak |first=RA |year=2001 |title=Current controversies regarding parental alienation syndrome |journal=American Journal of Forensic Psychology |volume=19 |pages=29–59 |url=http://www.rhfinc.org.au/docs/controversies.pdf |issue=3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829050853/http://www.rhfinc.org.au/docs/controversies.pdf |archive-date=2007-08-29 }}</ref><ref name="Jaffe20023"/><ref name=Sparta2006/><ref name="Ackerman" /><ref name=Waldron1996>{{cite journal |last=Waldron |first=KH |author2=Joanis DE |url= http://fact.on.ca/Info/pas/waldron.htm |title=Understanding and Collaboratively Treating Parental Alienation Syndrome |journal=American Journal of Family Law |volume=10 |pages= 121–133 |year=1996}}</ref> In this view, PAS confuses a child's developmental reaction to a divorce with ], vastly overstates the number of ], ignores the ] suggesting most allegations of child sexual abuse are well founded and thus well-meaning efforts to protect a child from an abusive parent, exaggerates the damaging effects of parental alienation on children and proposes an unsupported and endangering remedy for PAS.<ref name=Bruch2001/><ref name="Drozd2009" /> Concern has been expressed that PAS lacks adequate scientific support to be considered a syndrome and that Gardner has promoted PAS as a syndrome based on a vague clustering of behaviors.<ref name=Warshak2001/><ref name=Caplan2004/> Despite concerns about the validity of testimony regarding PAS, it has been inappropriately viewed as reliable by family court judges.<ref name=Hoult2006/> Proponents of PAS and others agree that using the designation of syndrome may be inappropriate as it implies more scientific legitimacy than it currently deserves.<ref name="Ackerman"/><ref name="Bala2007"/><ref name="Warshak2003"/>
Though Gardner's initial books on PAS were ] and not ]ed, subsequent articles have been published in peer reviewed journals,<ref name = Warshak2001/> though some of these were based on ] in the form of ].<ref name=Ackerman2001 /><ref>{{cite journal | url = http://www.ndaa.org/publications/newsletters/update_volume_16_number_6_2003.html | title = Parental Alienation Syndrome: What Professionals Need to Know Part 1 of 2 Update | volume = 16 | issue = 6 | year = 2003 | last = Ragland | first = ER | coauthors = Fields H | journal = American Prosecutors Research Institute Newsletter }}</ref> Gardner's writings published in both ]ed journals and legal decisions have been described as lacking both ] and ]<ref name=Bruch2001/><ref name=Wood1994/><ref name = Hoult2006/> and despite this, testimony regarding the evaluation of PAS is inappropriately viewed as reliable by ] judges. As of 2001 no studies had been published that directly evaluate whether different evaluators can arrive at the same diagnosis of the existence and severity of PAS<ref name = Warshak2001/> though a single problematic study in 2004 suggested practitioners could come to a consensus based on written reports.<ref name=Drozd2009/>

While PAS is not accepted as scientifically valid, the concept of ] has been advanced based upon theories of the "alienated child" and the dynamics that may have contributed to the child's alienation from a parent.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jaffe |first1=Peter G. |title=Child custody & domestic violence : a call for safety and accountability |date=2003 |publisher=Sage Publications |location=Thousand Oaks, Calif. |isbn=9780761918264 |page=53}}</ref> Like PAS, parental alienation is not recognized as a diagnosable mental condition.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=O’Donohue |first1=William |last2=Benuto |first2=Lorraine T. |last3=Bennett |first3=Natalie |title=Examining the validity of parental alienation syndrome |journal=Journal of Child Custody |date=2 July 2016 |volume=13 |issue=2–3 |pages=113–125 |doi=10.1080/15379418.2016.1217758|s2cid=151811817 }}</ref>


===Clinical status=== ===Clinical status===
PAS has been criticized for making ] with children who are alienated more confusing<ref name=Warshak2001/> and for labeling children with a mental diagnosis who may react angrily to their parents' separation or divorce.<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Walker |first1= Lenore E. |last2= Shapiro |first2= David L. |title= Parental Alienation Disorder: Why Label Children with a Mental Diagnosis? |journal = Journal of Child Custody |volume= 7 |issue= 4| year= 2010| pages= 266–286 |doi= 10.1080/15379418.2010.521041|doi-access= free }}</ref> Gardner's analysis has been criticized for inappropriately assigning all responsibility of the child's behavior to one parent when the child's behavior is oftentimes, but not always, the result of a dynamic in which both parents and the child play a role.<ref name="Johnston2004"/><ref name=Waldron1996/>
PAS has been criticized for making ] with children who are alienated more confusing.<ref name = Warshak2001/>


Gardner disagreed with criticism of PAS as overly simplistic, stating that while there are a wide variety of causes on why a child may become alienated from a parent, the primary etiological factor in cases of PAS is the brainwashing parent, and that otherwise, there is no PAS.<ref name="Gardner2001b"/> Gardner also stated that those initially critical of PAS for being a caricature were not directly involved with families in custody disputes and that criticisms of this nature faded by the late 1980s because the disorder was widespread.<ref name="Gardner20013"/> However, no scientific study has yet demonstrated that the elements of PAS are unique to alleged parental alienation such that they are useful for diagnosis.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lubit |first1=Roy |title=Valid and invalid ways to assess the reason a child rejects a parent: The continued malignant role of "parental alienation syndrome" |journal=Journal of Child Custody |date=29 June 2019 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=42–66 |doi=10.1080/15379418.2019.1590284|s2cid=198608748 }}</ref>
PAS has been described as incomplete, simplistic and erroneous for ignoring the multiple factors (including the behaviors of the child, parents and other family members) that may contribute to ], family dysfunction and a breakdown in ] between a parent and a child.<ref name=Jaffe2002 /><ref name=Ackerman2001 /><ref name = Warshak2001>{{cite journal | last = Warshak | first = RA | year = 2001 | title = Current controversies regarding parental alienation syndrome | journal = American Journal of Forensic Psychology | volume = 19 | issues = 3 | pages = 29-59 | format = pdf | url = http://www.rhfinc.org.au/docs/controversies.pdf }}</ref><ref name= Sparta2006/><ref name=Waldron1996>{{cite journal | last = Waldron | first = KH | coauthors = Joanis DE | url = http://fact.on.ca/Info/pas/waldron.htm | title = Understanding and Collaboratively Treating Parental Alienation Syndrome | journal = American Journal of Family Law | volume = 10 | pages = 121–133 | year = 1996 }}</ref> Gardner's analysis is criticized for inappropriately assigning all responsibility of the child's behavior to one parent, when in cases where the alienated parent has sufficient parenting time, the child's behavior is oftentimes, but not always, the result of a dynamic in which both parents and the child play a role.<ref name=Waldron1996/>


PAS has been criticized by for being sexist, being used by fathers to marginalize legitimate fears and concerns about abuse, and women's groups and others oppose the legitimacy of PAS as a danger to children.<ref name=Sparta2006/> After his initial publications, Gardner revised his theory to make fathers and mothers equally likely to alienate or be indoctrinators and disagreed that recognition of PAS is sexist. Gardner later indicated he believed men were equally likely to be PAS indoctrinators.<ref name="Gardner2001b"/> Studies of children and adults labelled with PAS have suggested that mothers were more likely than fathers to be the alienator.<ref name="Baker2007"/>
Gardner disagreed with criticism of PAS as overly simplistic, stating that while there are a wide variety of causes on why a child may become alienated from a parent, the primary etiological factor in cases of PAS is the brainwashing parent, and that otherwise, there is no PAS.<ref name="Gardner2001b"/> Gardner also stated that those initially critical of PAS for being a ] were not directly involved with families in custody disputes and that criticisms of this nature faded by the late 1980s because the disorder was widespread.<ref name=Gardner2001/>

==Views of PAS as sexist==
PAS has been criticized by for being sexist, being used by fathers to marginalize legitimate fears and concerns about abuse, and women's groups and others oppose the legitimacy of PAS as a danger to children.<ref name= Sparta2006>{{cite book | last = Sparta | first = SN | coauthors = Koocher GP | title = Forensic Mental Health Assessment of Children and Adolescents | publisher = ] | year = 2006 | pages = , | isbn = 9780195145847 }}</ref> Gardner and Psychologist Amy Baker state that mothers and fathers equally likely to alienate, and stated (along with psychologist Amy Baker) that men are now equally likely to be PAS indoctrinators, and the deniers of PAS are hurting children and women who are victims of their husbands’ PAS indoctrinations.<ref name="Gardner2001b"/><ref name="Winerip2007">{{cite news | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/23Rparenting.html?_r=1&ex=1191124800&en=96e6ea8c81331e11&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin | title = When Ties to a Parent Are Cut by the Other | last = Winerip | first = ML | date = 2007-09-23 | publisher = ] | work = ] | accessdate = 2008-12-20}}</ref>


==In courts== ==In courts==
===Canada===
Early Canadian court cases accepted expert opinions about PAS, used the term "syndrome" and concurred with Gardner's theory that only one parent was fully responsible for it. Gardner testified in one case (Fortin v. Major, 1996) but the court did not accept his opinion, concluding that the child was not alienated based on the evaluation of a court-appointed expert who, unlike Gardner, had met with the family members.<ref name="Bala2007"/> More recent cases, while accepting the concept of alienation, have noted the lack of recognition in the DSM-IV, and have generally avoided "syndrome" terminology, emphasizing that changes in custody are stressful for the child and should only occur in the most severe cases.<ref name="Bala2007"/> A 2006 research report by the ] described PAS as "empirically unsupported" and favored a different framework for dealing with issues of alienation that has more research support.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jaffe |first=PG |author2=Crooks CV |author3=Bala N |publisher=] |year=2006 |title=Making Appropriate Parenting Arrangements in Family Violence Cases: Applying the Literature to Identify Promising Practices |url=http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/pad-rpad/rep-rap/2005_3/2005_3.pdf |access-date=2009-05-05 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Decisions about possible parental alienation are considered a legal decision, to be determined by the judge based on the facts of the case, rather than a diagnosis made by a mental health professional. There is recognition that rejection of a parent is a complex issue, and that a distinction must be made between pathological alienation and reasonable estrangement.<ref name="Bala2007"/>

===United Kingdom===
In the ], the admissibility concerning the evaluation of PAS was rejected both in an expert review,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sturge |first=C |author2=Glaser D |title=Contact and domestic violence – the experts' court report |journal=Family Law |volume=615 |year=2000}}</ref> and by the ].<ref name="Fortin2003">{{Cite book|title=Children's Rights and the Developing Law|last=Fortin|first=Jane|publisher=]|year=2003|isbn=9780521606486|pages=}}</ref><ref name="Bainham2005">{{Cite book|title=Children: The Modern Law|last=Bainham|first=Andrew|publisher=Jordans|year=2005|isbn=9780853089391|pages=}}</ref>


===United States=== ===United States===
On occasion, PAS has been cited as part of the ] determination process in the ],<ref name=Fortin2003/> and some courts have awarded sole custody to one parent based upon findings of PAS.<ref name=Hoult2006/> In some cases a custody court's acceptance of allegations of parental alienation have resulted in children being placed in the custody of an abusive parent.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Silberg |first1=Joyanna |last2=Dallam |first2=Stephanie |title=Abusers gaining custody in family courts: A case series of over turned decisions |journal=Journal of Child Custody |date=2 Jul 2019 |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=140–169 |doi=10.1080/15379418.2019.1613204|s2cid=198616599 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hoult |first1=Jennifer |title=The Evidentiary Admissibility of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Science, Law, and Policy |journal=Children's Legal Rights Journal |date=2006 |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=1–61}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Andraé L. |title=Criminal Rewards |journal=Affilia |date=November 2008 |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=388–396 |doi=10.1177/0886109908323999|s2cid=143808429 }}</ref>
PAS has been cited as part of the ] determination process in the ].<ref name = Fortin2003/> Based on the evaluation of PAS, courts in the US have awarded sole custody to some fathers.<ref name = Hoult2006/> PAS has been challenged under the ], to evaluate if it has been accepted by the scientific community.<ref>{{cite book |author=Myers, John E. B. |title=Myers on evidence in child, domestic, and elder abuse cases |publisher= ] |location=Gaithersburg, Md |year=2005 |pages= |isbn=0-7355-5668-7 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}</ref><ref name = Hoult2006/> Gardner states that after Frye hearings, courts in Florida and Illinois have ruled that the evaluation of PAS is admissible in their respective courts of law, and he adds that these courts have concluded that PAS passes the Frye test because it has received widespread acceptance in the scientific community.<ref name="Gardner2001b"/> Despite Garnder's claims, a 2006 analysis of legal decisions associated with PAS found that these decisions do not set legal precedent, PAS is viewed negatively in most legal scholarship, and that Gardner's writings do not support the existence of PAS. Of sixty-four precedent-bearing cases, only two decisions, both in ] and both in ] actually set precedents. Both held PAS inadmissable and one case found that PAS failed the Frye test as the appropriate professional community did not generally accept; this decision was upheld in an ]. Gardner listed fifty cases on his website that he claimed set precedents that made PAS admissable, but none actually did; forty six set no precedents or did not discuss admissability and the remaining four were problematic. One case stated that PAS passed the Frye test, but the appeal did not discuss the Frye test and actually " out the words "'parental alienation syndrome'" and focused on the "willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship between the parents and the child." In the second case the appellate court did not discuss PAS; the third case specifically chose not to discuss the admissability of PAS and the fourth made no decision on PAS.<ref name = Hoult2006/>


The admissibility of testimony alleging PAS has been challenged under the ] and ], to evaluate if it has sufficient scientific basis and acceptance within the scientific community.<ref name=Hoult2006/><ref>{{Cite book|author=Myers, John E. B. |title=Myers on evidence in child, domestic, and elder abuse cases |publisher=] |location=Gaithersburg, Md |year=2005 |pages= |isbn=0-7355-5668-7}}</ref>
===Canada===
A research report by the ] describes PAS as "empirically unsupported" and favors a different framework for dealing with issues of alienation that has more research support.<ref>{{citation | last = Jaffe | first = PG | coauthors = Crooks CV & Bala N | publisher = ] | year = 2006 | title = Making Appropriate Parenting Arrangements in Family Violence Cases: Applying the Literature to Identify Promising Practices | url = http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/pad-rpad/rep-rap/2005_3/2005_3.pdf | format = pdf | accessdate = 2009-05-05}}</ref>


===United Kingdom=== ====Richard Gardner's claims====
Although Gardner claimed that PAS was generally accepted by the scholarly community and had passed the ''Frye'' test in two states,<ref name="Gardner2001b"/> a 2006 analysis of court cases involving PAS and cited by Gardner concluded that these decisions did not set legal precedent, that PAS is viewed negatively in most legal scholarship, and that Gardner's writings do not support the existence of PAS. Of sixty-four precedent-bearing cases reviewed at that time, only two decisions, both in ] and both in ] actually set precedents. Both held that the theory of PAS was inadmissible. One of the cases, subsequently upheld on appeal, found that PAS failed the ''Frye'' test as the appropriate professional community did not generally accept.
In the ], the admissibility concerning the evaluation of PAS was rejected both in an expert review,<ref>{{cite journal | last = Sturge | first = C | coauthors = Glaser D | title = Contact and domestic violence – the experts’ court report | journal = Family Law - Bristol | volume = 615 | year = 2000 }}</ref> and by the ].<ref name= Fortin2003/><ref name = Bainham2005/>


At the time, Gardner listed fifty cases on his website that he claimed set precedents that made PAS admissible. Upon review it was determined that none of the cases set precedents for the admissibility of PAS. forty-six set no precedents or did not discuss admissibility and the remaining four were problematic. In the first the trial court found that PAS passed the ''Frye'' test, but that finding was not reviewed on appeal so as to become precedential as the trial court " out the words 'parental alienation syndrome'" and focused instead on the "willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship between the parents and the child" under the state's child custody best interest factors.<ref>{{cite web|title=In re Marriage of Bates, 212 Ill.2d 489, 289 Ill.Dec. 218, 819 NE 2d 714 (2004)|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6030929260056747832|website=Google Scholar|access-date=4 May 2017}}</ref> In the second case, the appellate court did not discuss PAS. The third case specifically chose not to discuss the admissibility of PAS and the fourth made no decision on PAS.<ref name=Hoult2006/>
==References==
{{reflist|2}}


==External links== ====Case law====
In one New York case, ''Matter of Robert Coull v. Pamela Rottman'', 15 N.Y.S.3d 834, 131 AD 3d 964 (2015), child support was suspended based upon a trial court's finding of a parent's alienating behaviors. The court found that the father was prevented from seeing his son by the child's mother through a "pattern of alienation", and child support was suspended on that basis.<ref name="coull2015">{{cite web|title=Matter of Coull v Rottman|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16258062858305241115|website=Google Scholar|access-date=4 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Father Not Obligated to Pay Child Support, Panel Finds | author=Denney, Andrew | newspaper=New York Law Journal | date=9 September 2015 | url=http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=1202736637831/Father-Not-Obligated-to-Pay-Child-Support-Panel-Finds }}</ref> The decision was not based upon a psychological diagnosis, but was instead based upon a pattern of alienation actions and behaviors by the mother and her conduct during court proceedings.<ref name=coull2015/>


A focus on parental behavior allows a court to base its decision "upon accepted psychological concepts and diagnoses... without mention of the controversial and potentially inflammatory concept of PAS"; New York has followed this approach, with a court explaining,<ref>{{cite web |title=''Matter of E.S. v S.S.'', 2019 NY Slip Op 50948(U) |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8759774957947619287 |website=Google Scholar |access-date=2 August 2019}}</ref>
* {{DMOZ|/Society/People/Men/Issues/Fathers%27_Rights/Divorce_and_Custody/Parental_Alienation_Syndrome/}}
{{blockquote|PAS, essentially dismissed as "junk science", is not generally accepted in the scientific community, as it is not an approved term or diagnosis in the field of psychiatry and no New York court has allowed the admission of testimony concerning PAS....

However, New York Courts have embraced parental alienation as a concept. In recognizing that parental alienation can exist, some courts have loosely defined it as a custodial parent's active interference with or deliberate and unjustified frustration of the non-custodial parents' reasonable right of access to the child.}}
That approach treats parental alienation as a descriptive concept, allowing a court to consider parental behavior without the need to determine whether parental alienation is a valid psychological construct.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simring Milchman |first1=Madelyn |title=How far has parental alienation research progressed toward achieving scientific validity? |journal=Journal of Child Custody |date=2 July 2019 |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=115–139 |doi=10.1080/15379418.2019.1614511|s2cid=216134223 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
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==References==
{{Reflist|2}}


{{Authority control}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Parental Alienation Syndrome}}
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Latest revision as of 21:23, 5 December 2024

Purported childhood mental disorder This article is about a purported pediatric mental disorder. For the proposed concept, see Parental alienation.

Parental alienation syndrome (PAS) is 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. Proposed symptoms included extreme but unwarranted fear, and disrespect or hostility towards a parent. Gardner believed that a set of behaviors 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. Use of the term "syndrome" has not been accepted by either the medical or legal communities and Gardner's research has been broadly criticized by legal and mental health scholars for lacking scientific validity and reliability.

Initial description

Parental alienation syndrome is a term coined by child psychiatrist Richard A. Gardner drawing upon his clinical experiences in the early 1980s. The concept of one parent attempting to separate their child from the other parent as punishment or part of a divorce have been described since at least the 1940s, but Gardner was the first to define a specific syndrome. In his 1985 paper, he defined PAS as

...a disorder that arises primarily in the context of child-custody disputes. Its primary manifestation is the child's campaign of denigration against the parent, a campaign that has no justification. The disorder results from the combination of indoctrinations by the alienating parent and the child's own contributions to the vilification of the alienated parent.

He also stated that the indoctrination may be deliberate or unconscious on the part of the alienating parent. Gardner initially believed that parents (usually mothers) made false accusations of child abuse and sexual abuse against the other parent (usually fathers) in order to prevent further contact between them. While Gardner initially described the mother as the alienator in 90% of PAS cases, he later stated both parents were equally likely to alienate. He also later stated that in his experience accusations of sexual abuse were not present in the vast majority of cases of PAS.

Characteristics

Gardner described PAS as a preoccupation by the child with criticism and deprecation of a parent. Gardner stated that PAS occurs when, in the context of child custody disputes, one parent deliberately or unconsciously attempts to alienate a child from the other parent. According to Gardner, PAS is characterized by a cluster of eight symptoms that appear in the child. These include a campaign of denigration and hatred against the targeted parent; weak, absurd, or frivolous rationalizations for this deprecation and hatred; lack of the usual ambivalence about the targeted parent; strong assertions that the decision to reject the parent is theirs alone (the "independent-thinker phenomenon"); reflexive support of the favored parent in the conflict; lack of guilt over the treatment of the alienated parent; use of borrowed scenarios and phrases from the alienating parent; and the denigration not just of the targeted parent but also to that parent's extended family and friends. Despite frequent citations of these factors in scientific literature, the value ascribed to these factors has not been explored with professionals in the field.

Gardner and others divided PAS into mild, moderate and severe levels. The number and severity of the eight symptoms included in the syndrome were hypothesized to increase through the different levels. Recommendations for management differed according to the severity level of the child's symptoms. While a diagnosis of PAS is made based on the child's symptoms, Gardner stated that any change in custody should be based primarily on the symptom level of the alienating parent.

In mild cases, it was alleged that there was some parental programming against the targeted parent, but little or no disruption of visitation, and Gardner did not recommend court-ordered visitation.

In moderate cases, it was alleged that more parental programming occurred resulting in greater resistance to visits with the targeted parent. Gardner recommended that primary custody remain with the programming parent if the brainwashing was expected to be discontinued, but if not, that custody should be transferred to the targeted parent. In addition, therapy with the child to stop alienation and remediate the damaged relationship with the targeted parent was recommended.

In severe cases, in which children were found to display most or all of the eight symptoms and refused to visit the targeted parent, possibly threatening to run away or engage in self-harm if forced to visit the other parent, Gardner recommended that the child be removed from the alienating parent's home into a transition home before moving into the home of the targeted parent.

In addition to modification of custody, Gardner recommended therapy for the child. Gardner's proposed intervention for moderate and severe PAS, which include court-ordered transfer to the alienated parent, fines, house arrest, and incarceration, have been critiqued for their punitive nature towards the alienating parent and alienated child, and for the risk of abuse of power and violation of their civil rights. With time, Gardner revised his views and expressed less support for the most aggressive management strategies.

Reception

Gardner's original formulation, which labeled mothers almost exclusively as the alienating parent, was endorsed by fathers' rights groups, as it allowed fathers to explain the reluctance of their children to visit them and assign blame to their former wives. In contrast, women's groups criticized the syndrome, concerned that it permitted abusers to claim that allegations of abuse by mother or child were reflective of brainwashing. Gardner himself emphasized that PAS only applied in situations where there was no actual abuse or neglect had not occurred, but by 1998, noted an increase in the awareness of PAS had led to an increase in its misapplication as an exculpatory legal maneuver.

PAS has been cited in high-conflict divorce and child custody cases, particularly as a defense against accusations of domestic violence or sexual abuse. The status of the syndrome, and thus its admissibility in the testimony of experts, has been the subject of dispute, with challenges raised about its acceptance by professionals in the field, whether it follows a scientific methodology that is testable, whether it has been tested and has a known error rate, and the extent to which the theory has been published and peer-reviewed.

PAS has not been accepted by experts in psychology, child advocacy or the study of child abuse or legal scholars. PAS has been extensively criticized by members of the legal and mental health community, who state that PAS should not be admissible in child custody hearings based on both science and law.

No professional association has recognized PAS as a relevant medical syndrome or mental disorder. PAS is not listed in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems of the WHO. It is not recognized by the American Medical Association or the American Psychiatric Association. The American Psychological Association declined to give a position on PAS, but raised concerns over its lack of supporting data and how the term is used. The APA's 1996 Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family expressed concern that custody evaluators use PAS as a means of giving custody to fathers despite a history of violence, a concern shared by other commentators. The United States National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges rejected PAS, recommending it not be used for the consideration of child-custody issues.

The admissibility of PAS was rejected by an expert review panel and the Court of Appeal of England and Wales in the United Kingdom and Canada's Department of Justice recommends against its use. PAS has been mentioned in some family court cases in the United States. Gardner portrayed PAS as well accepted by the judiciary and having set a variety of precedents, but legal analysis of the actual cases indicates that as of 2006 this claim was incorrect.

Exclusion from the DSM

PAS is not included in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Gardner and others lobbied for its inclusion in the DSM-V revision. In 2001, Gardner argued that when the DSM-IV was released, there was insufficient research to include PAS, but since then, there have been enough scientific articles and attention to PAS that it merited being taken seriously.

A survey of American custody evaluators, published in 2007, found that half of the respondents disagreed with its inclusion, while a third thought it should be. A related formulation, named parental alienation disorder, has been proposed, suggesting that inclusion of PAS in the DSM-5 would promote research and appropriate treatment, as well as reduce misuse of a valid and reliable construct. In December 2012, the American Psychiatric Association announced that PAS would not be included in the DSM-V revision. However, there are now diagnoses included in DSM-V that reflect the impact of parental behavior upon children, in particular parent-child relational problem and child affected by parental relationship distress. The key distinction is that the diagnoses listed in the DSM relate to the mental health of the diagnosed individual, as opposed to attempting to describe a disorder of the relationship between different people, whether parent-child or parent-parent.

Scientific status

Gardner's formulation of PAS is critiqued as lacking a scientific basis, and as a hypothesis whose proponents have failed to meet the scientific burden of proof to merit acceptance. The first publications about PAS were self-published and not peer reviewed, and though subsequent articles have been published in peer reviewed journals, most have consisted of anecdotal evidence in the form of case studies; in addition, the limited research into PAS has lacked evidence of its validity and reliability. The lack of objective research and replication, falsifiability, and independent publication has led to claims that PAS is pseudoscience or junk science. Proponents of PAS concur that large scale systematic controlled studies into PAS's validity and reliability are required, supplementing a single small study in 2004 which suggested practitioners could come to a consensus based on written reports.

The theoretical foundation of PAS has been described as incomplete, simplistic and erroneous for ignoring the multiple factors (including the behaviors of the child, parents and other family members) that may contribute to parental alienation, family dysfunction and a breakdown in attachment between a parent and a child. In this view, PAS confuses a child's developmental reaction to a divorce with psychosis, vastly overstates the number of false allegations of child sexual abuse, ignores the scientific literature suggesting most allegations of child sexual abuse are well founded and thus well-meaning efforts to protect a child from an abusive parent, exaggerates the damaging effects of parental alienation on children and proposes an unsupported and endangering remedy for PAS. Concern has been expressed that PAS lacks adequate scientific support to be considered a syndrome and that Gardner has promoted PAS as a syndrome based on a vague clustering of behaviors. Despite concerns about the validity of testimony regarding PAS, it has been inappropriately viewed as reliable by family court judges. Proponents of PAS and others agree that using the designation of syndrome may be inappropriate as it implies more scientific legitimacy than it currently deserves.

While PAS is not accepted as scientifically valid, the concept of parental alienation has been advanced based upon theories of the "alienated child" and the dynamics that may have contributed to the child's alienation from a parent. Like PAS, parental alienation is not recognized as a diagnosable mental condition.

Clinical status

PAS has been criticized for making clinical work with children who are alienated more confusing and for labeling children with a mental diagnosis who may react angrily to their parents' separation or divorce. Gardner's analysis has been criticized for inappropriately assigning all responsibility of the child's behavior to one parent when the child's behavior is oftentimes, but not always, the result of a dynamic in which both parents and the child play a role.

Gardner disagreed with criticism of PAS as overly simplistic, stating that while there are a wide variety of causes on why a child may become alienated from a parent, the primary etiological factor in cases of PAS is the brainwashing parent, and that otherwise, there is no PAS. Gardner also stated that those initially critical of PAS for being a caricature were not directly involved with families in custody disputes and that criticisms of this nature faded by the late 1980s because the disorder was widespread. However, no scientific study has yet demonstrated that the elements of PAS are unique to alleged parental alienation such that they are useful for diagnosis.

PAS has been criticized by for being sexist, being used by fathers to marginalize legitimate fears and concerns about abuse, and women's groups and others oppose the legitimacy of PAS as a danger to children. After his initial publications, Gardner revised his theory to make fathers and mothers equally likely to alienate or be indoctrinators and disagreed that recognition of PAS is sexist. Gardner later indicated he believed men were equally likely to be PAS indoctrinators. Studies of children and adults labelled with PAS have suggested that mothers were more likely than fathers to be the alienator.

In courts

Canada

Early Canadian court cases accepted expert opinions about PAS, used the term "syndrome" and concurred with Gardner's theory that only one parent was fully responsible for it. Gardner testified in one case (Fortin v. Major, 1996) but the court did not accept his opinion, concluding that the child was not alienated based on the evaluation of a court-appointed expert who, unlike Gardner, had met with the family members. More recent cases, while accepting the concept of alienation, have noted the lack of recognition in the DSM-IV, and have generally avoided "syndrome" terminology, emphasizing that changes in custody are stressful for the child and should only occur in the most severe cases. A 2006 research report by the Canadian Department of Justice described PAS as "empirically unsupported" and favored a different framework for dealing with issues of alienation that has more research support. Decisions about possible parental alienation are considered a legal decision, to be determined by the judge based on the facts of the case, rather than a diagnosis made by a mental health professional. There is recognition that rejection of a parent is a complex issue, and that a distinction must be made between pathological alienation and reasonable estrangement.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the admissibility concerning the evaluation of PAS was rejected both in an expert review, and by the Court of Appeal.

United States

On occasion, PAS has been cited as part of the child custody determination process in the United States, and some courts have awarded sole custody to one parent based upon findings of PAS. In some cases a custody court's acceptance of allegations of parental alienation have resulted in children being placed in the custody of an abusive parent.

The admissibility of testimony alleging PAS has been challenged under the Frye test and Daubert standard, to evaluate if it has sufficient scientific basis and acceptance within the scientific community.

Richard Gardner's claims

Although Gardner claimed that PAS was generally accepted by the scholarly community and had passed the Frye test in two states, a 2006 analysis of court cases involving PAS and cited by Gardner concluded that these decisions did not set legal precedent, that PAS is viewed negatively in most legal scholarship, and that Gardner's writings do not support the existence of PAS. Of sixty-four precedent-bearing cases reviewed at that time, only two decisions, both in New York State and both in criminal courts actually set precedents. Both held that the theory of PAS was inadmissible. One of the cases, subsequently upheld on appeal, found that PAS failed the Frye test as the appropriate professional community did not generally accept.

At the time, Gardner listed fifty cases on his website that he claimed set precedents that made PAS admissible. Upon review it was determined that none of the cases set precedents for the admissibility of PAS. forty-six set no precedents or did not discuss admissibility and the remaining four were problematic. In the first the trial court found that PAS passed the Frye test, but that finding was not reviewed on appeal so as to become precedential as the trial court " out the words 'parental alienation syndrome'" and focused instead on the "willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship between the parents and the child" under the state's child custody best interest factors. In the second case, the appellate court did not discuss PAS. The third case specifically chose not to discuss the admissibility of PAS and the fourth made no decision on PAS.

Case law

In one New York case, Matter of Robert Coull v. Pamela Rottman, 15 N.Y.S.3d 834, 131 AD 3d 964 (2015), child support was suspended based upon a trial court's finding of a parent's alienating behaviors. The court found that the father was prevented from seeing his son by the child's mother through a "pattern of alienation", and child support was suspended on that basis. The decision was not based upon a psychological diagnosis, but was instead based upon a pattern of alienation actions and behaviors by the mother and her conduct during court proceedings.

A focus on parental behavior allows a court to base its decision "upon accepted psychological concepts and diagnoses... without mention of the controversial and potentially inflammatory concept of PAS"; New York has followed this approach, with a court explaining,

PAS, essentially dismissed as "junk science", is not generally accepted in the scientific community, as it is not an approved term or diagnosis in the field of psychiatry and no New York court has allowed the admission of testimony concerning PAS.... However, New York Courts have embraced parental alienation as a concept. In recognizing that parental alienation can exist, some courts have loosely defined it as a custodial parent's active interference with or deliberate and unjustified frustration of the non-custodial parents' reasonable right of access to the child.

That approach treats parental alienation as a descriptive concept, allowing a court to consider parental behavior without the need to determine whether parental alienation is a valid psychological construct.

See also

References

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  2. ^ Gardner, Richard (Summer 1985). "Recent Trends in Divorce and Custody Litigation" (PDF). Academy Forum. 29 (2): 3–7.
  3. ^ Gardner, RA (2001). "Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS): Sixteen Years Later". Academy Forum. 45 (1): 10–12. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  4. ^ Faller, KC (1998). "The parental alienation syndrome: What is it and what data support it?" (PDF). Child Maltreatment. 3 (2): 100–115. doi:10.1177/1077559598003002005. hdl:2027.42/67847. S2CID 143768958.
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  10. Gardner, Richard (2004). "Commentary on Kelly and Johnston's The Alienated Child: A Reformulation of Parental Alienation Syndrome" (PDF). Family Court Review. 42 (4): 611–21. doi:10.1177/1531244504268711.
  11. ^ Baker, AJL (2007). "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. S2CID 143847423.
  12. Caplan, PJ (2004). "What is it that's being called Parental Alienation Syndrome". In Caplan PJ; Cosgrove L (eds.). Bias in psychiatric diagnosis. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 62. ISBN 9780765700018.
  13. Brown, T; Renata A (2007). Child Abuse and Family Law: Understanding the Issues Facing Human Service and Legal Professionals. Allen & Unwin. pp. 11–12. ISBN 9781865087313.
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  17. Dallam, SJ (1999). "The Parental Alienation Syndrome: Is It Scientific?". In St. Charles E; Crook L (eds.). Expose: The failure of family courts to protect children from abuse in custody disputes. Our Children Our Children Charitable Foundation.
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