Faculty Articles
A Critical Analysis of Parental Alienation Syndrome and Its Admissibility in the Family Court
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2004
Publication Title
Journal of Child Custody
Volume
1
Issue/Number
2
First Page
47
ISSN
1537-9418
Last Page
74
Abstract/Excerpt
Over the past three decades, parental alienation syndrome (PAS) has been proposed to explain behaviors by a child who refuses to spend time with a parent and actually denigrates that parent within the context of a child custody dispute. Although some mental health professionals and child custody evaluators, attorneys, and judges have been quick to accept and admit PAS as evidence in these disputes, there has been no consistent empirical or clinical evidence that PAS exists or that the alienator's behavior is the actual cause of the alienated child's behavior towards the target parent. This article attempts to help those working with custody issues understand how the PAS construct fails to meet scientific standards and should not be admissible in courts.
DOI
10.1300/J190v01n02_03
NSUWorks Citation
Walker, L. E.,
Brantley, K. L.,
Rigsbee, J. A.
(2004). A Critical Analysis of Parental Alienation Syndrome and Its Admissibility in the Family Court. Journal of Child Custody, 1(2), 47-74.
Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_facarticles/396