Adult Recall of Parental Alienation in a Community Sample: Prevalence and Associations With Psychological Maltreatment

Two hundred fifty-three adults working in a New York child welfare agency agreed to complete anonymous research packets containing, among other measures, 6 existing scales of psychological maltreatment and a single item about exposure to parental alienation as a child. Results revealed that one fourth of the full sample reported some exposure to parental alienation, which itself was associated with greater likelihood of reporting psychological maltreatment. These data document just how widespread parental alienation may be, as well as the likelihood that those exposed to it will experience themselves as having been psychologically maltreated. Implications of these findings are presented in terms of public awareness, education for divorcing families and their children, and professional training for the mental health and legal professionals working with them.     

Adolescents Caught in Parental Loyalty Conflicts

A group of 220 13- to 16-year old Catholic high school boys were administered a questionnaire regarding their exposure to parental loyalty conflict behaviors, physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological maltreatment, depression, and rule-breaking behaviors. Results revealed high rates of exposure to parental loyalty conflict—especially in divorced families—as well as statistically significant associations with psychological maltreatment and depression. These data build on and extend earlier findings documenting the prevalence of children's involvement in parental conflict and the negative effects of that experience.     

The Relationship Between Psychological Functioning in a College Sample and Retrospective Reports of Parental Loyalty Conflicts and Psychological Maltreatment

Two-hundred forty participants completed questionnaires that explored parental unions, experiences of parental loyalty conflict behaviors, psychological functioning, and frequency of exposure to maltreatment. Significant relationships were found between nonintact parental union status and experiences of parental loyalty conflict, parental loyalty conflict and psychological abuse, and parental loyalty conflict and anxiety and depression symptoms. Relatively low frequencies of experiencing parental loyalty conflict can negatively affect psychological functioning. Implications for psychological, social, and legal service providers are presented.     

Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect: Do Parents Show Improvement in Parental Mental Health Problems and Parental Stress?

Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) is an evidence-based program for families with children who experience maltreatment. This clinical trial is the first evaluation of MST-CAN in a German-speaking area. Parental psychological problems and parental stress have been shown to be risk factors for child abuse and neglect. By the end of treatment, parents reported significantly less psychological distress than before the start of MST-CAN. Six months after treatment, this reduction was still evident. However, parents did not report any significant reduction of parental stress at any of the three time points. MST-CAN is an effective intervention for child maltreatment that not only combats child abuse and neglect but also has the potential to alleviate parental psychological distress.     

Effects of community violence exposure and parental mental health on the internalizing problems of urban adolescents

Previous research has documented an association between adolescent community violence exposure (CVE) and poor psychological functioning. The purpose of this study is to delineate the relations of CVE, parental mental health, and adolescent PTSD and depression. Participants consisted of 121 pairs of junior high and high school students and their parents. Adolescents completed measures to assess their history of violence exposure and current psychological functioning. Parents completed a demographic questionnaire and measures assessing their psychological functioning. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted, and results indicated that, after controlling for demographic variables and family violence exposure, parental mental health emerged as a moderating variable in the relation between CVE and adolescent-rated PTSD, but not in the association between adolescent CVE and depression. Clinical implications of this study and directions for future research are discussed.     

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

This article reviews a recent book arguing how a concept known as parental alienation syndrome—now parental alienation disorder—should be included in official psychiatric/psychological and medical classification diagnostic manuals. Anecdotal cases and opinion are presented as research and scientific evidence, and stories are presented as research studies. In addition, the book often contradicts itself in different sections. The author is not familiar with scientific methodology, confuses various statistical and research procedures and terminology, and thus misleads the reader in trying to promote this theory. This book's claim that it is the most comprehensive compilation of the evidence supporting parental alienation disorder/parental alienation syndrome is false, and it is not recommended by the reviewers.     

Prevalence of parental alienation drawn from a representative poll

The current work is the first known representative poll of adults (N = 610) aimed at determining the prevalence of parental alienation. Parental alienation describes actions that a parent takes to intentionally, or unintentionally, distance a child (or children) from the other parent (Darnell, 1998). Results revealed that 13.4% of parents (or 9.03% of the entire sample) have been alienated from one or more of their children. Our findings suggest that tens of millions of adults and their children may be impacted by parental alienation, which is much higher than previous estimates. Furthermore, findings show evidence of parental alienation across all socio-economic and demographic indicators. However, when compared to Census estimates of different demographic groups in the U.S. population, targeted parents were over-represented among Blacks/African Americans and Native Americans, and those with only a high school diploma level education. The sheer magnitude of parental alienation uncovered in this study indicates the need for more attention to be paid to this important and pervasive problem.     

Adult Recall of Childhood Psychological Maltreatment in “Adult Children of Divorce”: Prevalence and Associations With Concurrent Measures of Well-Being

One hundred and eighteen adults whose parents divorced when they were 15 years of age or younger participated in an Internet survey of adult recall of psychological maltreatment and standardized outcomes including other forms of maltreatment, self-sufficiency, depression, alcohol dependency, attachment style, and self-esteem. It was hypothesized that rates of psychological maltreatment would be associated with all of these outcomes. Most, but not all, of the associations were borne out. The findings shed light on one way in which children of divorce are at risk for poor outcomes and highlight the need for interventions for divorced parents and children to address the issue of psychological maltreatment.     

Screening for trauma exposure, and posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms among mothers receiving child welfare preventive services

The role of parental trauma exposure and related mental health symptoms as risk factors for child maltreatment for parents involved with the child welfare (CW) system has received limited attention. In particular, little is known about the extent to which mothers receiving CW services to prevent maltreatment have experienced trauma and suffered trauma-related psychopathology. This study examined screening data collected from 127 mothers receiving CW preventive services. There were high levels of trauma exposure among screened mothers and their young children. Among mothers, 91.6% experienced at least one traumatic event (M = 2.60) and 92.2% reported their children had been exposed to one or more traumas (M = 4.85). Mothers reported high levels of trauma-related symptoms: 54.3% met probable criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression (61.7%). Nearly half (48.8%) met criteria for co-morbid PTSD and depression. The large majority of the clients with trauma-related disorders were not receiving mental health services. Latina women had significantly more severe PTSD symptoms than African American women. Case planners reported that the screening process was useful and feasible. These findings underscore the feasibility and importance of trauma screening among parents receiving CW preventive services.     

Economic predictors of child maltreatment in an Australian population-based birth cohort

A correlation between socioeconomic disadvantage and child maltreatment has long been observed, but the drivers of this association are poorly understood. We sought to estimate the effects of economic factors on risk of child maltreatment after adjusting for other known influences using the Australian Temperament Project, a population-based birth cohort of 2443 individuals and their parents. We used logistic regression to estimate associations of childhood economic factors (parental education, occupation, and unemployment; type of housing; and retrospective perception of poverty) with retrospective reports of perceived child maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and witnessing of domestic violence), controlling for demographic factors, parental mental health and substance use, and child health. We then used these estimates to approximate the proportions of child maltreatment—population attributable fractions—that are theoretically preventable by addressing childhood economic disadvantage. Economic factors were associated with all types of child maltreatment. For the most part, these associations diminished only partially when controlling for noneconomic confounders, supporting hypotheses of causal relationships. Jointly, economic factors were significant predictors of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and witnessing of domestic violence but not of emotional abuse or neglect. Retrospective perceptions of childhood poverty were, in particular, strongly associated with most forms of child maltreatment but not with sexual abuse after accounting for other economic factors. We estimated that 27% of all child maltreatment was jointly attributable to economic factors. These findings suggest that strategies that reduce economic disadvantage are likely to hold significant potential to reduce the prevalence of child maltreatment.     

A Dyadic Perspective on Childhood Maltreatment for Women With Provoked Vestibulodynia and Their Partners: Associations With Pain and Sexual and Psychosocial Functioning

Childhood maltreatment is robustly associated with adult-onset vulvodynia, a common form of female genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder. However, little is known about the impact of childhood maltreatment on current sexual, psychological, and relationship adaptation for couples with provoked vestibulodynia (PVD). This study examined the associations between childhood maltreatment and sexual and psychosocial functioning and pain in women with PVD, the most common subtype of vulvodynia, and their partners. A total of 49 couples (M_age women = 27.80, SD = 6.05; M_age men = 30.04; SD = 6.48) with PVD completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), as well as measures of sexual functioning, couple satisfaction, and anxiety. Women also reported on their pain during intercourse. Analyses were guided by the actor–partner interdependence model. Women’s higher reports of childhood maltreatment were associated with their lower sexual functioning and higher anxiety. Partners’ higher reports of childhood maltreatment were associated with their lower sexual functioning, lower couple satisfaction, and higher anxiety, as well as women’s lower couple satisfaction and higher anxiety. Both women’s and partners’ higher reports of childhood maltreatment were associated with higher affective pain for women. Findings suggest childhood maltreatment experienced by women with PVD and their partners should be considered as part of treatment planning.     

Parental emotional warmth and psychological Suzhi as mediators between socioeconomic status and problem behaviours in Chinese children

ObjectiveThis study investigated psychological mechanisms underlying the relationship between family socioeconomic status (SES) and problem behaviours in Chinese children.MethodsParticipants were 1128 children (556 females) from two Chinese elementary schools, aged 8–13 years (M = 10.82, SD = 1.26), attending the 3rd–6th grades. Children provided self-report on parental emotional warmth and psychological suzhi, whereas parents reported on SES and problem behaviours.ResultsData analyses, including structural equation modelling (SEM)—employed to test a three-path mediation effect of parental emotional warmth and psychological suzhi after controlling for gender and grade—revealed that: (1) SES, parental emotional warmth, and psychological suzhi were negatively correlated with children's problem behaviours; (2) SES indirectly affected children's psychological suzhi through parental emotional warmth; (3) psychological suzhi mediated the relation between parental emotional warmth and problem behaviours; and (4) children belonging to families with low SES were less likely to receive emotional support from their parents. This significantly predicted low psychological suzhi levels, which in turn negatively affected problem behaviours.ConclusionsStrategies that help parents provide warmth and support and those that help children improve psychological suzhi may help reduce problem behaviours in vulnerable groups.     

Adult Sibling Relationships in the Context of a Mid- to Late-Life Parental Divorce

There has been much research on the influence of parental divorce on children, but less is known about whether and how a later-life parental divorce influences the lives of adult children. Through qualitative interviews with 40 adult children of divorce—those whose parents divorced after they were 18 years of age—adult sibling relationships were explored to determine if a mid- to late-life parental divorce affects the adult sibling relationship. The majority of participants reported that their sibling relationships were not negatively affected by the parental divorce; however, a minority of participants noted that their adult sibling relationships were negatively affected, especially if they “took sides” during the parental divorce.     

Violence and hostility among families of Vietnam veterans with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder

The current study provides a portrait of emotional-behavioral functioning within a small sample of Vietnam veterans with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), their partners, and older adolescent and adult children. Veterans, their partners and children reported moderate-low to moderate-high levels of violent behavior. In addition, partner and veteran hostility scores were elevated relative to gender and age matched norms. Partners also reported heightened levels of psychological maltreatment by veterans. Veterans' combat exposure was positively correlated with hostility and violent behavior among children but unrelated to partner variables. Veterans' reports of PTSD symptoms were positively associated with reports of hostility and violence among children, and hostility and general psychological distress among partners. Veterans' violent behavior was also positively correlated with children's violent behavior, but did not yield significant correlations with other child or partner variables. Findings are discussed in relation to prior work and directions for future research are addressed.     

Intergenerational Patterns of Maltreatment in Families at Risk for Foster Care

Few qualitative studies have investigated the process of parental efforts to break intergenerational patterns of maltreatment. A grounded theory approach was used to understand how 24 parents who had been identified by CPS as being at‐risk of having their children removed from their homes due to allegations of abuse and/or neglect, perceived and connected their own experiences of childhood abuse in light of their experiences as alleged perpetrators of child maltreatment. Three major categories were identified: patterns, beliefs, and behaviors. A majority of the parents stated that they recognized intergenerational patterns, most expressed that they wanted to be different from their own parents, yet many described parenting actions that were “destructive.” We suggest that it is the interrelationship amongst patterns, beliefs, and behaviors that may offer opportunities for parents and therapists to enact change.     

Parental role strains, salience of parental identity and gender differences in psychological distress.

Although past research indicates that women's higher levels of psychological distress can be accounted for by their greater exposure and vulnerability to role-related stress, the social psychological factors contributing to female vulnerability have not been fully identified. This paper applies identity theory to the phenomenon of gender differences in distress among parents. From an identity perspective, I propose that salience of the parental identity in women's self-conceptions contributes to their vulnerability to parental role strains. Using 1988 survey data from a stratified random sample of married and divorced Indianapolis residents (N = 448), I find that gender differences in distress are explained by differences in exposure to parental role strains. Further analyses reveal, however, that salience of the parental identity contributes to both men's and women's vulnerability to parental role strains. These findings underscore the utility of identity theory for explaining psychological distress among women and men.     

In Search of the Sources of Psychologically Controlling Parenting: The Role of Parental Separation Anxiety and Parental Maladaptive Perfectionism

This study investigated the role of two dimensions of parental separation anxiety—Anxiety about Adolescent Distancing (AAD) and Comfort with Secure Base Role (CSBR)—and parental maladaptive perfectionism in the prediction of psychologically controlling parenting. In a sample of middle adolescents and their parents (N=677), it was found that parents' AAD scores and maladaptive perfectionism were positively related to psychological control, whereas parents' CSBR scores were negatively related to psychological control. Further, psychological control served as an intervening variable in the links between parent characteristics and adolescent well‐being. These findings suggest that two qualitatively different types of psychological control may exist: one originating from parents' separation anxiety and another originating from parents' maladaptive perfectionist standards.     

Is prior parental criminal justice involvement associated with child maltreatment? A systematic review

Parental criminal justice involvement is prevalent in the United States and potentially associated with a range of negative outcomes for children including child abuse and neglect. However, the association between prior parental criminal justice involvement and child maltreatment is not well understood. This paper reviewed the existing literature regarding maltreatment victimization among children of parents with prior criminal justice involvement. Results from ten reviewed studies demonstrated an association between prior parental criminal justice involvement and child maltreatment, but did not provide sufficient evidence to determine whether parental criminal justice involvement is an independent risk factor for child maltreatment or of the specific mechanisms through which this association occurs. Recommendations for future research include use of multivariate analysis methods that account for variations in the type and timing of parental criminal justice involvement and child maltreatment. Implications for practice include the development of strategies to address the adverse family contexts commonly found among these parents and children.     

Behaviors and Strategies Employed in Parental Alienation

Abstract

A survey study was conducted of adults who self reported being targets of parental alienation. Three research questions were addressed: (1) What alienating strategies were identified by the targeted parents and to what extent were these behaviors consistent with those identified by adult children of PAS? (2) Was gender of the targeted parent associated with number and/or type of strategy identified? And (3) What child and parent characteristics were associated with level of PAS (mild, moderate, severe) as described by the targeted parents? Ninety-seven individuals completed a written survey. One section of the survey asked participants to list every type of behavior that they believed the alienating parent used to effectuate the alienation. From prior research and review of the responses, a list of possible strategies was developed. The 1,300 actions described by the 97 participants were independently coded. Results revealed 66 types of strategies, 11 mentioned by at least 20% of the sample. There was considerable but not complete overlap in the strategies identified by the targeted parents with those described by adult children (from another study). There were no statistical differences in the number or type of strategy mentioned based on the gender of the targeted parent or the gender of the target child. Level of severity of PAS (mild, moderate, severe) as perceived by the targeted parent was associated with age and gender of the target child, with girls and older children being more likely to be reported as more severely alienated. These results provide a systematic examination of the different types of alienation strategies known to targeted parents and as such they offer several avenues for clinical interventions and future research.     

Remaining home: Well-being outcomes and co-occurring parental substance use following a maltreatment investigation in middle childhood

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to understand differences in child well-being related to parental substance use among children ages 6–12 who were investigated for maltreatment but not removed from their homes. Children with a substance-using parent in the home are compared to those without a substance-using parent in the home.MethodsLongitudinal data from waves 1 and 3 of the second National Study of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II) are used. NSCAW II is a national sample of families with children and youth aged birth to 17.5 investigated by child protective services (CPS). A subset of the data (analyzed with domain analysis methods) is used for this study (n = 575). Eight well-being outcomes from four domains (cognitive development, physical health, psychological/behavioral development and social/emotional competence) are analyzed.FindingsWe hypothesized that (among children investigated for maltreatment and not removed from home) children whose parents used substances would exhibit lower mean levels of well-being at thirty-six months follow-up compared to those whose parents did not use. Unexpectedly, we found no significant differences in well-being levels between children with parents in the home using substances and those without.ConclusionsChildren with substance-using parents may be able to remain at home over an extended period after investigation, while maintaining well-being levels similar to children at home with parents not using substances. If an effective safety plan can be put in place, this option may provide a path to maintaining safety, permanency and well-being for such children without placement in out-of-home care.