Parental alienation syndrome

Parental alienation syndrome is a proposed explanation for a child’s rejection of one parent as resulting from the other parent’s influence. It is not a recognized formal diagnosis, and the concept remains contested.

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Parental alienation: A disputed term for a parent’s alleged actions that damage a child’s relationship with the other parent. This broader, contested concept is often conflated with the proposed syndrome.
Richard A. Gardner: An American psychiatrist who introduced the term parental alienation syndrome in the 1980s. Gardner formulated the syndrome and promoted it in custody litigation.
Family court: A court that handles legal matters involving families, including divorce, custody, and child support. Claims involving the syndrome most often arise in disputes over parenting arrangements.
Scientific validity: The extent to which a concept is supported by reliable evidence and produces testable, reproducible findings. The syndrome’s status depends on whether its claims can be distinguished and reliably assessed.
Child abuse: Actions or failures to act by a caregiver that cause or risk harm to a child. A child’s rejection may be a response to abuse, not evidence of another parent’s influence.
Parental alienation syndrome in custody litigation: The use of Gardner’s proposed syndrome as an explanation or argument in child-custody disputes. Courtroom use helped spread the label beyond clinical debate.
Child custody: The legal and practical arrangements governing a child’s care and contact with parents. The proposed syndrome is used to explain disputes about a child’s relationship with a parent.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: A manual published by the American Psychiatric Association that classifies mental disorders and diagnostic criteria. Its diagnostic categories provide a benchmark often invoked in debates over formal recognition.
Domestic violence: Abuse or coercive behavior by an intimate partner or family member. Family violence can shape custody disputes and a child’s contact with a parent.
Parental alienation syndrome debate: The dispute over the concept’s validity, evidence, and consequences in family courts and mental-health practice. Critics challenge its scientific basis and warn that it can obscure abuse allegations.