No empirical research exists validating parental alienation syndrome Posted February 9, 2015 Tweet This | Share on Facebook Rebecca Shiemke Michigan Poverty Law Program Hard Copy https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RzsL5v_8NKqfUnKvOOfZX2MUz9Kp7Vqb/view?usp=sharing

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The potential harm of reliance on PAS or PA to explain a child’s behavior toward a parent is particularly acute in cases involving domestic abuse. It is undisputed that children are harmed from exposure to domestic violence in their home even if a child does not directly observe the violence.9 PAS fails to contemplate that a child may exhibit traumatic behavior because the relationship between the child’s parents was violent or abusive.

PAS and PA are too often used to distract from an objective assessment of past abuse of either the child or the child’s parent. One attorney experienced in custody cases involving domestic violence described the misuse of PA as follows: “when PA adherents fail to distinguish between children who are estranged from a non-custodial parent due to abuse or other negative behavior from children who have been wrongly influenced by their favored parent to hate or fear the other.”10 The result is that the child’s fears are attributed to “alienation” rather than to the disfavored parent’s own behaviors. This same expert recommends that in all cases where parental alienation has been raised, abuse should always be assessed first and if verified, the assessment should focus on safety for the child and abused parent. Alienation claims against the abused parent should not be considered unless abuse has been ruled out. Otherwise, PAS, PA or alienation claims without a label will be used to undermine the importance of assessing and responding to abuse allegations.

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