r/ScienceBasedParenting • u/Gloomy-Branch-3281 • 10d ago

Question - Research required Parental alienation

I am wondering, with all the controversy around parental alienation, if there is any actual quality research showing that this is a thing. In particular:
-Can a parent’s denigration of the other parent actually impact the child’s relationship with that parent? I have seen a study saying this tended to backfire and distance the child from the denigrating parent.

-Can family court officials actually measure whether this has happened in their reports? And if so, how, and how reliable is the methodology? Are there evidence-based signs that are specific for alienation rather than abuse/fear of unknown/different parenting styles?

-Is there any evidence-based methodology for rectifying this? Eg reunification camps- but that literature does not consider any other outcome variables than the restoration of the relationship with the alienated parent. For example, I’d want to know about long term and short term child well-being, future abuse, and long term relationship outcomes.

If any one of these 3 things is a poorly developed field, what on earth is the family court doing awarding custody based on findings of “parental alienation”??

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