Four Types of Expert Opinions

Types of Expert Opinions

• Expert opinion is based upon clinical judgment because there is no scientific research available.

Types of Expert Opinions

• Expert opinion is based upon clinical judgments where there is research evidence available on the issue that is contrary to the clinical judgment.

Types of Expert Opinions

• Expert opinion is based upon presentation of results of scientific research and includes opinions based on clinical judgments that go beyond the results of current research.

Types of Expert Opinions

Expert opinion is based upon the results of scientific research

Shuman, D.W., & Sales, B.D. (1998). The admissibility of expert testimony based upon clinical judgment and scientific research. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 4 (4), 1226 – 1252.

Distinguishing Child Alienation from Abuse

Alienation is Abuse

• Bonafide cases of alienation are harmful to children because of their effects on disruptions to children’s healthy development of needed relationships with both parents.

• False cases of alienation are harmful to children because of the increased risk of placing children with abusive parents

• First professional literature about alienation was Reich (1949) who wrote about parents who seek “revenge on the partner through robbing him or her of the pleasure in the child” (p. 265).

• Wallerstein and Kelly (1980) were the first to describe alienation within divorced families.

• They described a child’s irrational rejection of a parent and her resistance or refusal to visit the parent.

• Initial formulation was based on idea that there was a pathological alignment between an angry parent and an older children that came from the dynamics of separation

• Richard Gardner (1985) defined a conscious or unconscious attempt by one parent to behave in such a way as to alienate the child from the other parent.

• In his early writings, Gardner identified the mother as most often the parent who engaged in systematic attempts to alienated the child from the other parent.

• More recently, Gardner (2002) wrote that fathers are becoming as likely as mothers to engage in the process of alienation.

Parental Alienation Syndrome

• Purpose is to align child with one parent by forcing the other parent out of the child’s life

• The child must contribute to the campaign of denigration along with the alienating parent’s behavior of negatively influencing the child against the other parent.

• It is the combination of the two that warrants the term PAS

8 Characteristics of PAS

• Denigration• Child’s use of phrases, terms and scenarios

that do not reflect the child’s experience and do not reflect the child’s developmental level

• Child’s display of inconsistent, illogical, weak, or absurd rationalization for devaluing the parent

• Lack of ambivalence toward either parent

8 Characteristics (con’t)

• Alienating parent insists that decision to reject other parent is child’s decision

• Child views one parent as good parent and the other parent as bad parent

• Child has lack of guilt or lack of feelings about loss of other parent

• Feelings and beliefs about fear and danger inherent in relationship with other parent is generalized to include extended family members and sometimes, friends and neighbors

Criticism of Gardner’s PAS

• American Psychological Association’s Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family (1996)

• Anecdotal reports indicating that many mothers lost custody in which there were concerns about domestic violence.

• Alleged that abusive fathers convinced the court that the mothers were engaged in alienating behaviors.

Ain’t a Syndrome!

• Attorney John Myers (1993) argued that there was no empirical evidence to show that the eight characteristics of PAS were a syndrome.

• No empirical work to determine whether the 8 characteristics predict alienating behaviors.

• Without empirical research, courts cannot determine the reliability of the diagnostic criteria as predictors of the syndrome

• Testimony about Parental Alienation Syndrome, therefore, should not be admissible because PAS characteristics have not been show to reliably predict alienation.

• Testimony about Parental Alienation Syndrome is more prejudicial than probative for this reason

Yeah, it is a syndrome

• Warshak (2001) argues that the 8 characteristics of PAS have useful clinical value in describing behavior that is somewhat commonly seen in high conflict divorce cases.

• Use of PAS characteristics assists the court in understanding “an alternative explanation of a child’s negative or fearful conduct and attitudes” (Warshak, 2002, p.42)

No, it really isn’t a syndrome!

• Law Professior Carol Bruch (2001) criticized Gardner’s PAS.

• Gardner confuses a child’s normal developmentally-related reaction to divorce with psychosis

• No support that young children are more likely to be alienated

• Bruch aruges that PAS is used too often to counter true allegations of abuse in custody cases

• Focuses attention away from potentially dangerous behavior on part of parent seeking custody to that of the custodial parent

• No evidence that a child’s relationship with alienated parent is irreparably harmed if drastic action is not taken

Another criticism: PAS is biased against women

• PAS is biased against women.

• Most women are custodial parents after divorce and continue to provide most care taking of children post-divorce

• Alienation occurs after divorce

• Alienation occurs, in part, because mothers have more time with children to influence them away from a strong relationship with father

Two Recent Studies

• Cuthbert, C., Slote, K., Driggers, M.G., Mesh, C.J., Bancroft, L., & Silverman, J. (2002). Battered mothers speak out: A human rights report on domestic violence and child custody in the Massachusetts family courts. Wellesley, Ma.: Wellesley Centers for Women.

• Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence (2003). Battered mothers’ testimony project: A human rights approach to child custody and domestic violence. Phoenix. Az.: Author.

• Assessment procedures recommended by Gardner are biased against women

• Two recent studies– equal numbers of mothers and fathers are

alienators (Berns, 2001)– About one third of alienators are fathers

(Kopetski & Rand)

• Gardner’s model was that alienation processes occurred between the mother and the child, with both people making important contributions to the alienation process.

Kelly & Johnston’s

Child Alienation Model

• It’s a family affair

• It’s a developmental affair

• It’s a historical affair

Relationships with the family

• Positive relationship with both parents

• Affinity for one parent

• Alliance with one parent

• Estrangement from one parent

• Alienation from one parent

Children’s Relationships with Parents After Separation and Divorce

Child’s Relationshi

Child prefers contact

with both parents

Child prefers contact

with One Parent

(ambivalence evident)

Child rejects one

parent

(No Ambivalence)

Positive relationship with

both

Affinity With one

parent

Alliance with one parent

Estrangement from

one parent

Estrangement

from one parent

Alienated from one

parent

Realistic estrangement

Pathological alienation

Realistic estrangement

Everyone Contributes to the Dysfunction

• Child characteristics

• Alienating parent characteristics

• Alienated parent characteristics

• Extended family characteristics

Contributions of the Aligning Parent

• Aligned parent harbors a deep distrust and fear of the other parent;

• Absolutely convinced that other parent is irrelevant and/or evil influence on child;

• Rejected parent’s attempts to visit the child are viewed as harassment;

• Aligned parent does not pass along letters or phone messages from other parent;

• Aligned parent strongly supports child’s right to make her own decision about visiting other parent

• Aligned parent confirms for the child that the other parent is not worthy of the child’s attention;

• Rejected parent is denigrated in child’s presence and child is encouraged to point out other parent’s faults;

• Aligned parent fervently believes that other parent is dangerous to the child;

• Aligned parent convinces child that other parent does not and has never loved or cared for the child;

• Aligned parent and child tell stories about the other parent’s lack of care and lack of love demonstrating other parent’s presumed lack of concern

Contributions of the Alienated Child

• Child’s age and cognitive capacity;

• Child feels abandoned by rejected parent;

• Child’s temperament and vulnerabilities;

• Other parent-child relationship factors;

• Lack of external support for child

Contributions of the Rejected Parent

• Passivity and withdrawal in the face of high conflict;

• Counter-rejection of the alienated child;• Harsh and rigid parenting style;• Rejected parent is self-centered and

immature;• Rejected parent has critical and demanding

traits;• Rejected parent has diminished empathy for

the aligned child

Distinguishing Alienation from Abuse

• Is there trouble in child’s attachment of relationship with either parent?

• If yes, what is the cause for the dysfunction/disruption?

Drozd, L. M., & Olesen, N. W. (2004). Is it abuse, alienation, and/or estrangement from the perspective of the child. Journal of Child Custody, 1 (3), 65 – 106.

Parent Alienation and Attachment Parent Alienation and Attachment TheoryTheory

• Benjamin Garber, 2004, Journal of Child Benjamin Garber, 2004, Journal of Child CustodyCustody

– Alienation presupposes a bond between parent and Alienation presupposes a bond between parent and childchild

Attachment. . . .

Dynamic and adaptive relationship specific to Dynamic and adaptive relationship specific to each care-giver and childeach care-giver and child

Child uses relationship to establish securityChild uses relationship to establish security

Not same and offer different levels of securityNot same and offer different levels of security

The quality of attachment security is flexible, The quality of attachment security is flexible, adaptive and caregiver specificadaptive and caregiver specific

– Early attachment does not predict later Early attachment does not predict later behavior when there have been intervening behavior when there have been intervening changes in parenting qualitychanges in parenting quality

– Changes in parenting quality causes less Changes in parenting quality causes less adaptive behavior, changes to more sensitive adaptive behavior, changes to more sensitive parenting may increase infant attachment parenting may increase infant attachment securitysecurity

– Internal Working Models accommodate new Internal Working Models accommodate new information from more varied sources as a information from more varied sources as a child matureschild matures

– New information about an individual is either New information about an individual is either consistent or inconsistent with the IWM of the consistent or inconsistent with the IWM of the childchild

– If information is inconsistent it is either If information is inconsistent it is either assimilated (disregarded, does not change assimilated (disregarded, does not change the IWM) or accommodated (reshapes the the IWM) or accommodated (reshapes the IMW)IMW)

– If accommodated information makes the If accommodated information makes the child feel more secure, it is “Aligning”child feel more secure, it is “Aligning”

– If accommodated information makes the If accommodated information makes the child feel less secure, it is “Alienating.” child feel less secure, it is “Alienating.”

– In normal, healthy family, such In normal, healthy family, such information and accommodation help information and accommodation help with safety and identificationwith safety and identification

– New Information coming from the caregiver is New Information coming from the caregiver is accommodated by the child through self-accommodated by the child through self-reflection and may be aligning or alienating. reflection and may be aligning or alienating. Thus a given caregiver can affect the Thus a given caregiver can affect the attachment relationship with their child by attachment relationship with their child by actions and words.actions and words.

– Information from outside parties can affect the Information from outside parties can affect the IWM of the child, either to create greater IWM of the child, either to create greater security (alignment) or lesser security security (alignment) or lesser security (alienation)(alienation)

– Coparent alignment is the healthy, Coparent alignment is the healthy, mutually supportive dynamic of parents mutually supportive dynamic of parents reinforcing the security of the reinforcing the security of the attachments of their child with each attachments of their child with each parentparent

– Coparent alienation occurs when a Coparent alienation occurs when a parent’s words or actions decrease the parent’s words or actions decrease the security of attachment of a child and the security of attachment of a child and the other parent.other parent.

– Impact of accuracy of the messageImpact of accuracy of the message

• If the message is accurate, the change in the IWM If the message is accurate, the change in the IWM and subsequent relationship is appropriate, i.e. if a and subsequent relationship is appropriate, i.e. if a parent reassures a child about a sensitive parent, parent reassures a child about a sensitive parent, their security (and alignment) is enhanced. their security (and alignment) is enhanced. Similarly, if a parent discusses safety issues about Similarly, if a parent discusses safety issues about an abusive parent, the child’s “estrangement” an abusive parent, the child’s “estrangement” (decreased security) is accurate. (decreased security) is accurate.

Inaccurate messages create multiple Inaccurate messages create multiple problems. An inaccurate problems. An inaccurate endorsement of an insensitive, endorsement of an insensitive, abusive parent creates a abusive parent creates a misalignment. Inaccurate denigration misalignment. Inaccurate denigration of a sensitive, appropriate parent of a sensitive, appropriate parent causes “alienation.”causes “alienation.”

Alienation: Related IssuesAlienation: Related Issues

• Impact on ChildrenImpact on Children– Feelings of loss; of targeted parent, possibility Feelings of loss; of targeted parent, possibility

of both parents, extended family, communityof both parents, extended family, community– Shame as adults at their behavior and rejectionShame as adults at their behavior and rejection– Guilt over behavior, and over consequences of Guilt over behavior, and over consequences of

courtroom testimonycourtroom testimony– Omnipotence and Empowering because of Omnipotence and Empowering because of

recognition of power and manipulationrecognition of power and manipulation– Lowered self-esteem secondary to internal Lowered self-esteem secondary to internal

conflict and awarenessconflict and awareness

• Protective Factors for Children (Warshak, Protective Factors for Children (Warshak, 2002)2002)– On-going physical and psychological contact On-going physical and psychological contact

between the child and Target parentbetween the child and Target parent– A positive, prior relationship between Target A positive, prior relationship between Target

parent and childparent and child– An independent, assertive, resilient, non-An independent, assertive, resilient, non-

anxious childanxious child– A target parent who is sensitive, non-A target parent who is sensitive, non-

defensive and supportivedefensive and supportive

• Treatment of resistant childrenTreatment of resistant children– ControversialControversial– Depends on attitude about the dynamicDepends on attitude about the dynamic– Use of coercive court orders for treatmentUse of coercive court orders for treatment– Ordering contact between children and Ordering contact between children and

estranged parentsestranged parents– Reversing custody of alienated childrenReversing custody of alienated children– ““Deprogramming”Deprogramming”– Letting nature take its courseLetting nature take its course

• Option 1, Reunification/ReintegrationOption 1, Reunification/Reintegration– Allow custody to remain with the favored Allow custody to remain with the favored

parent, but Court ordered parent-child therapy parent, but Court ordered parent-child therapy with the target parent. with the target parent. • Overt resistance to treatment from childOvert resistance to treatment from child• Lack of motivation to support from favored parentLack of motivation to support from favored parent• Financially expensiveFinancially expensive• Therapy makes matters worseTherapy makes matters worse

• Option 1.Option 1.– Better for less severe casesBetter for less severe cases– Less acutely stressful for the children than Less acutely stressful for the children than

options 2 and 3options 2 and 3– Implies favored parent is better suited to Implies favored parent is better suited to

meets needs of the childmeets needs of the child

• Option 2, Environmental ModificationOption 2, Environmental Modification– Custody is given to the target parent and Custody is given to the target parent and

therapy is ordered for the child-parent, but therapy is ordered for the child-parent, but contact is allowed with the favored parentcontact is allowed with the favored parent• Child needs protectionChild needs protection• Alienation is clearly secondary to favored parentAlienation is clearly secondary to favored parent• Favored parent would sabotage Option 1Favored parent would sabotage Option 1• Child needs concentrated time with target parent to Child needs concentrated time with target parent to

insure relationshipinsure relationship

• Option 2.Option 2.– Use takes the responsibility of the custody Use takes the responsibility of the custody

decision off the childdecision off the child– May create greater motivation to get over May create greater motivation to get over

negative attitudes and beliefsnegative attitudes and beliefs– Direct contact confronts irrational, unrealistic Direct contact confronts irrational, unrealistic

beliefsbeliefs– Creates a foundation of positive, shared Creates a foundation of positive, shared

experiences to build upon experiences to build upon

• Option 2.Option 2.– Removed child may be vulnerable to, and Removed child may be vulnerable to, and

suffer significant emotional trauma secondary suffer significant emotional trauma secondary to changeto change

– Child may act-out and attempt to defy OrderChild may act-out and attempt to defy Order– If quickly reversed, child may learn to If quickly reversed, child may learn to

disrespect the law and be empowereddisrespect the law and be empowered– Rather than overcome alienation, child may Rather than overcome alienation, child may

simply feel helpless and acquiescesimply feel helpless and acquiesce– Long-term adjustment must be consideredLong-term adjustment must be considered

• Option 3, Outside PlacementOption 3, Outside Placement– Child is placed away from both parents at a Child is placed away from both parents at a

boarding school, distant relative, foster facilityboarding school, distant relative, foster facility• Child not caught between two negative forcesChild not caught between two negative forces• Issues of Option 2 exist, but either target parent Issues of Option 2 exist, but either target parent

not ready for custody, or neither parent offers a not ready for custody, or neither parent offers a safe optionsafe option

• Good option for adolescentsGood option for adolescents• May create financial burdens that cannot be May create financial burdens that cannot be

overcomeovercome

• Option 4, ParentectomyOption 4, Parentectomy– The child is allowed to terminate their The child is allowed to terminate their

relationship with the target parentrelationship with the target parent• Reduces long-standing stress on childReduces long-standing stress on child• Follows multiple failures by other optionsFollows multiple failures by other options• Parent can no longer “afford” the fight, emotionally, Parent can no longer “afford” the fight, emotionally,

financially, socially, familyfinancially, socially, family

• Option 4Option 4– May lead to feelings for child of parental May lead to feelings for child of parental

abandonmentabandonment– Child may learn to avoid conflict rather than Child may learn to avoid conflict rather than

find solutionsfind solutions– Child’s irrational beliefs are reinforcedChild’s irrational beliefs are reinforced– Child given inappropriate sense of entitlement Child given inappropriate sense of entitlement

• Questions:Questions:– Should parents and children be coerced into Should parents and children be coerced into

treatment, processes or schedules which they treatment, processes or schedules which they oppose?oppose?

– Should rights and responsibilities of parents Should rights and responsibilities of parents be challenged?be challenged?

– Should children have a right to self-Should children have a right to self-determination?determination?

– How do we define emotional abuseHow do we define emotional abuse– At what level is alienation equal to “abuse?”At what level is alienation equal to “abuse?”