Parents Alienating Children Research Paper

Randy Rand, Deidre Rand, and Richard Warshak developed the Family Bridges program (Warkshak, 2010). “The Family Bridges workshop has helped families with alienated children throughout the U.S. and other countries for the past 23 years” (Family Bridges: A Workshop for Troubled and Alienated Parent-Child Relationships, 2004-2013). The program was created for participation by the rejected parent and the child. It is a four-day residential, educational and experiential program. Participation in the intervention occurs when the court has made an interim or permanent award of custody to the rejected parent, and has referred the parent and child(ren)to Family

Parental Alienation Syndrome is defined as a syndrome where one parent (usually the custodial parent) alienates the child or children from the other parent. A child psychiatrist organized this syndrome by the name of Richard Gardner. The fact that Parental Alienation Syndrome is used in custody litigations makes it a very controversial issue. The syndrome tends to target one parent and favor the other, sometimes leaving the child in compromising situations. Also, Gardner's 'syndrome' lacks scientific background and is seen as nothing more than a theory by many other professionals. Parental Alienation Syndrome should not be considered in court custody battles, as it is nothing more than an inadequate theory.

Parental abandonment of a child can have long term psychological issues they will suffer from including obsessive thinking, critical thoughts about the abandonment, and self-blame. Child abandonment is when a parent, guardian, or any person taking care of the child or deserts the child without any regard to the child’s physical health, safety, or welfare. From the ages from an infant to 18 years old, that’s when child abandonment takes place. It is the rule of nature for every child to be brought up by two parents. The effect of child abandonment can be felt throughout the child growth as the child displays different characteristics from those who have had the privilege of being brought up by two parents. Parents are the source of joy to most children and a source of pride too. Parental abandonment has been proven to have adverse negative effects on the life of a child as this research paper will highlight.

This is not to say that the parents are bad parents or stupid, they just do not realize that children can pick up on things at a young age as they watch them. As parents they should monitor what they do around their children, so that the child does not have to learn bad habits. If the children does happen to do something bad they should take the necessary course of action to make sure that the child knows that the act is bad and should tell them the right course of action. Showing your children the way of life and how it should be lived could positively affect their growth as they mature into teenagers and eventually adults. Now I know everyone is not perfect and we may fail to be a perfect role model, but at least try to keep the negativity to a bare minimum around the child. Parental guidance is always necessary in life. As parents you have experienced the things that the child may be going through and can relate to them on matters because you have been there. I believe if more parents were to talk to their children and try to blend it into being their child’s best friend the problem with aggression can seize itself because every learned action can be unlearned.

parents who have had their children removed from them multiple times for the same offenses. It

“The child withdraws to a dark hole disconnected from the rest of the world, or watches people with fear and hatred at a far distance, with an internal chaos taking charge of the child’s life.” (Shi, 2014) If a child has been a victim of neglect or abuse, they will have a hard time trusting others. It severely affects them and their way of viewing the world. They get disconnected and stay away from others. They start to resent others, for that’s all they’ve

When abruptly removing a child from their father is ignoring the emotional needs of that child/children. They end up feeling vulnerable, alone, and frightened

Wang, F., Cox, M. J., Mills-Koonce, R., & Snyder, P. (2015). Parental Behaviors and Beliefs, Child Temperament, and Attachment Disorganization. Family Relations, 64(2),

In 2002 there was estimated to be nearly 3 million referrals to Child Protective Services (CPS) in the United States, and about 5 million in the year 2000 (McWey & Mullis, 2004). Children who are living in environments that put them in harms way, depending on the situation are generally removed from their home and placed into a foster home in attempts to keep them safe (Carlson, Egeland & Lawrence, 2006). Common examples of Child Protective Service (CPS) referrals include physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological maltreatment (McWey & Mullis, 2004). In 2001 it was estimated that nearly 542,000 children were in foster care in the United States and that the number of children in foster care exceeded the number of available foster homes by nearly 30-40% (Carlson, Egeland & Lawrence, 2006). For many children in foster care, reunification with biological parent or parents is the ultimate goal (McWey, Acock & Porter, 2010). In 60% of foster care cases, reunification with biological parents occurs (Carlson, Egeland & Lawrence, 2006) .In order for reunification to be possible, or to help determine whether reunification can occur, children and biological parents have scheduled visits with trained supervisors who monitor the visits (Haight, Kagle & Black, 2003). The duty of the supervisor is to look at the parent child interactions and determine whether or not they are appropriate. Supervised visitation has been shown to have positive and negative effects on children who are

Child abandonment/child neglect can be noticed throughout the case. Kellie and Lachaux leaving the two kids home by themselves without any supervision,

Rejecting is when the adult refuses the child, makes the child feel as though they are to blame for any situation that occurs, or refuses the child’s worth and legitimacy. When a child is isolated they are cut off from normal activities. They may be made to eat alone, away from the family, sent to their room after school and not allowed to see or make friends, or use any forms of communication. Terrorizing a child will show itself in forms of verbal assaults, making the child’s environment fearful, or it can be when a child is singled out for unnecessary criticism, punishment, or ridicule. The feelings of terror could be threats of physical or sexual abuse, leaving the child feeling fearful of the adult in question. Ignoring happens when someone is not there for the child emotionally. Depriving the child of the required stimulation and affection is also a form of ignoring. When a child is corrupted or exploited they are placed in situations that are not appropriate for a child. An example of this may be that they are allowed to smoke, drink, or do drugs at a young age. The child might be put in a situation where there is pornographic materials around, or someone is being sexually suggestive, or if they are being used for sex or prostitution. Any circumstance that “is destructive antisocial behavior, reinforces deviance” and is not a childhood “normal social

child-rearing problems around both detachment and attachment. Children of Holocaust survivors may be assumed to have taken the emotional states and behaviors of their parents. As such, children who are born to traumatized Holocaust survivors would be “predisposed to PTSD (Kellermann, 264). Other evidence regarding intergenerational transmission of trauma suggests that survivors have been affected to different degrees by trauma and share a psychological syndrome referred to as Concentration Camp Syndrome (Last, 72). Last describes CSS “as a relatively fixed, lifelong condition characterized by various combinations of a wide range of symptoms that are usually regarded as psychopathological and can be traced to Holocaust experiences. These include lasting depression; anxiety, emotional ability, irritability, and restlessness; nightmares; a sense depletion, of despair and alienation; obsessional ruminations; guilt feelings; failing memory and difficulties in concentration; fatigue; a a variety of psychosomatic complaints” (Last, 75). While some therapists believe that the concept of second generation is in fact a fallacy, others conclude that it is rather impossible to grow up in a family with Holocaust survivors and not absorb some of the trauma of parents and other family members.

What I have found out about my project on Parental Alienation is that in actuality no one wins here, especially the children. In addition, the targeted person/parent does not stand a chance in this battle. Even when money is not an issue and they have evidence or proof of the alienation. The person/parent doing the alienating has and always will win this battle. Yes I do feel it has changed, and this is how it has changed. Before my research I thought it was two people who were separating or divorcing, and the parent/person who could afford the better attorney and any other costs would prevail. But this is far from the case. The alienation of a child is abusive, and is a largely overlooked form of child abuse. Targeted parent/person will have

These feelings of inadequacy can cause parents to unconsciously withdraw fromtheir children, which can lead the child to feel rejected and result in an insecure attachment style.

There was a variety of factors that influence the victim in the decision making with children. In general, the victim was hugely conflicted in the decision making with the children. The children are determining force if the mother stay or left from an abuse relationship. The mother considers monetary issue, housing and other necessities in the process of doing something it is extremely difficult to just leave Mothers just wanted to protect their child from the emotional strain from violence and/or moving. The protection expanses to stress from any legal aspect of IVP, helping with translation or court battles on the child. The want to keep the family together is stability because there is emotional support for both mother and child. The risk of getting Child Protective Service involve after calling the police could lead to removal of the child or potential getting help. Especially since the women are from different geographic region laws are different from one another in CPS cases. All the different factors are shared concern of the mother from different locations involving IVP with children.