Abusers and fathers' rights attorneys claim PAS is an accepted psychological “syndrome” when, in fact, it has no scientific foundation and has been routinely rejected by courts and mental health professionals.
Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is used by fathers' attorneys to attack the credibility of mothers and undermine the testimony of children who have accused their fathers of abuse. It portrays the child's preferred or protective parent — usually the mother — as an evil "alienator" who turns a vulnerable child against the other parent — usually the father.
This is not to imply that abuse allegations are always accurate, or that parents don't attempt to manipulate their children during custody litigation. Children also can be angry or resent one or both parents during divorce.
Parental Alienation Syndrome lacks a scientific foundation and has never been shown to be a valid explanation of this process. It has never been submitted for scientific review by reputable researchers.
Professional journals say it's an example of junk science that has been presented to the courts as credible forensic evidence. PAS has been widely discredited in academic circles for being biased against women and children, and flawed in its failure to take into account alternative explanations for the behavior of the parties involved.
Dr. Richard Gardner thought up PAS while working as a paid consultant to men charged with sexually abusing their children. The "syndrome" was created as a defense tactic to counter a child's allegation of sexual abuse.
Gardner defined PAS as a psychiatric disorder that arises in the course of child-custody disputes. He said that the child's claim of parental abuse was evidence of mental illness caused by the mother. The cure for this alleged mental illness was for the child to be placed in greater contact with the abuser while contact with the protective parent was limited or stopped altogether. He recommended that sole custody be given to the parent that the child claimed was abusing them.
Despite PAS being discredited, some courts accept it anyway because it fits well with the friendly parent preference. Using PAS as a defense can place children in danger of being revictimized in family court.
The latest research on children embroiled in custody conflicts supports looking at the multiple, interacting, and often complex factors that affect a child's feelings about his or her parents.
A recent study considered the multiple factors that could contribute to the child's rejection of a parent. It concluded that the child's actual experiences of abuse is just as important as alienating behaviors or lack of parental warmth between the child and rejected parent.
This material is based on the article "Myths that Place Children at Risk During Custody Litigation" by Stephanie Dallam & JL Silberg. We encourage you to read the entire article.
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