Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS)
Definition
A construct proposed by Richard Gardner in the 1980s describing children's unjustified denigration of one parent as resulting from the other parent's programming; not included in DSM-5 or ICD-11 and subject to substantial scientific critique, particularly the Meier (2020) study on its use in proceedings involving domestic violence allegations.
- Proposed by
- Richard Gardner, 1980s
- DSM-5 / ICD-11 status
- Not included in either
- Field
- Family court, child custody evaluation
- Key critique
- Meier (2020) study
Common questions
Why is PAS controversial in custody proceedings?+
It is not a recognized diagnosis in DSM-5 or ICD-11, and critics argue it has been used to discount legitimate allegations of abuse by attributing a child's rejection of a parent to alienation rather than to the rejected parent's own conduct.
What did the Meier 2020 study examine?+
It examined how alienation claims were used in custody cases that also involved domestic violence or abuse allegations, raising concerns about how such claims affected outcomes for protective parents.
Related terms
- AFCC Model Standards
- Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Model Standards of Practice for Child Custody Evaluation (2006, updated 2022); the primary professional standard for...
- Cafcass Section-7 Report
- A report on a child's welfare prepared by a Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service officer or appointed expert under...
- Coercive Control
- A pattern of behaviour in intimate relationships that seeks to deny autonomy and dominate the victim through means including isolation, monitoring, financial...
- CTS2 (Revised Conflict Tactics Scales)
- Straus et al. (1996) instrument for quantifying domestic violence history through self-report, used in research contexts in custody evaluations; its use in...
- Gaurav Nagpal V. Sumedha Nagpal (2008)
- Supreme Court of India decision affirming that the welfare of the minor is the first and paramount consideration in custody proceedings, overriding...
- Hizanat
- The Muslim personal law doctrine of maternal preferential custody rights for young children, applying specific age thresholds for boys and girls; Indian...
- Welfare of the Child (Paramount Consideration)
- The overriding legal test in custody determinations across common-law jurisdictions, including India (Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956 § 13, as applied...