Divorce/Custody/Parental Alienation Resources
Articles and videos by Dr. Warshak for parents, lawyers, and therapists dealing with parental alienation and parental alienation syndrome, overnights for young children, relocations, and child custody disputes.
For additional items and specially priced collections, and a quick overview of all currently available items, visit the STORE.
Parental Alienation, Parental Alienation Syndrome,
and Alienated Children
CR49 - Parental Alienation Evaluation, Evidence, & Intervention || WBP01 - Welcome Back, Pluto –DVD || WBPDD - Welcome Back, Pluto - Digital Download || CR37 - Welcome Back, Pluto DVD Divorce Poison book || CR30 - Benefits and Hazards of Involving Children in Custody Decisions-DVD || CR32 - Set of Three Articles on Family Bridges || CR33 - Family Bridges: Using Insights From Social Science to Reconnect || CR34 - Helping Alienated Children || CR35 - Alienating Audiences from Innovation || CR41 – Parental Alienation Among College Students || CR15 - Parental Alienation Syndrome in Court || CR27 - Bringing Sense to Parental Alienation: Disputes and the Evidence || CR31 - Social Science and Parental Alienation || CR24 - Misdiagnosis of PAS || CR17 - Remarriage and Parental Alienation || CR23 - Current Controversies Regarding PAS || CR20 - Obstacles and Controversies in the Pursuit of Children's Best Interests
< back to topCR 49 - Parental Alienation Evaluation, Evidence, & Intervention
13 articles and chapters + Benefits & Hazards of Involving Children in Custody Decisions DVD
From 2000-2012 Dr. Warshak produced fourteen works on parental alienation and parental alienation syndrome, not including the two editions of Divorce Poison, Welcome Back, Pluto, and unpublished speeches.
A collection of this work is now available for parents, lawyers, and mental health professionals who want an easy way to acquire this body of professional work without having to order each item individually.
The collection consists of fourteen items:
- nine articles published in peer-review professional journals (mental health journals, legal journals, and interdisciplinary journals),
- one chapter from the Advanced Family Law Course materials,
- one book chapter,
- one spiral bound monograph on PAS based on a chapter for a manual published by the State Bar of Texas for judges and attorneys,
- one DVD of a lecture, and
- one pamphlet based on an unpublished keynote speech
If purchased individually, these items cost $136.20. The collection is offered at $111.95. Items included are:
CR15, CR17, CR20, CR23, CR24, CR27, CR28, CR30, CR31, CR33, CR34, CR35, CR41, CR48
CR49, collection of 14 items: one monograph, nine articles, two chapters, one DVD, and one pamphlet
Price: $111.95
To add Welcome Back, Pluto DVD to the above collection, choose CR50 instead.
T
o add Welcome Back, Pluto DVD and Divorce Poison, choose CR51 instead.
Welcome Back, Pluto - DVD
WBP01, WBP02
Price: $19.99; $14.99 two or more.
For quotes on bulk purchase discounts of 25 or more, email Dr. Warshak.
Click here for description of this acclaimed video.
Welcome Back, Pluto - Download
Temporarily unavailable.
DVD + Book bundle: Welcome Back, Pluto + DivorcePoison
CR37, DVD, Book
Price: $34.99
Benefits and Hazards of Involving Children in Custody Decisions (DVD)
On this DVD, see and hear Dr. Warshak deliver what he considers one of his finest speeches. This entertaining and very well-received keynote address was delivered to an audience of judges, attorneys, and mental health professionals.
Dr. Warshak explains why and how children can make important contributions to custody decisions. But he cautions professionals about the risks of damage to children and their families when children participate in custody decisions. Dr. Warshak presents more than a dozen hazards that should be considered before eliciting and placing weight on children's and adolescent's stated preferences in custody disputes. He highlights the harm for the family when a child publically takes a stand against a parent and he illustrates the manner in which therapists can involve children without placing them in the middle of their parents' conflicts. Dr. Warshak then introduces the concept of the "collective voice of children" to describe how research can bring children's voices into custody decisions while sparing children the pitfalls of direct participation.
CR30, DVD (1 hour: 48 minute speech/10 minute Q&A)
Price: $9.75 NOW AVAILABLE AGAIN
Set of Three Articles on Family Bridges: A Workshop for Troubled and Alienated Parent-Child Relationships™
The following three articles, items CR33, CR34, and CR35, describe the program for severely alienated children and adolescents that has captured world-wide attention, and correct misconceptions about the program. The articles can be purchased as a set, or individually.
CR32, set of three journal articles (if purchased individually, $24.45)
Price: $21.95
Family Bridges: Using Insights From Social Science To Reconnect Parents and Alienated Children
This article is the first in a refereed journal on the program for severely alienated children that has captured world-wide attention. The article passed a rigorous peer review process and provides the first detailed account of Family Bridges: A Workshop for Troubled and Alienated Parent-Child Relationships. We received more than 100 requests throughout the world for advanced copies of this article before it was even published! This groundbreaking article became the centerpiece of an entire issue of a professional journal.
`The article examines the benefits, drawbacks, controversies, and ethical issues regarding various options available to courts and parents in responding to alienated children, including reunification therapy, custodial transfers, boarding schools, and suspending attempts to repair damaged parent-child relationships.
Next, the article describes an innovative educational and experiential program, Family Bridges: A Workshop for Troubled and Alienated Parent-Child Relationships, that draws on social science research to help severely and unreasonably alienated children and adolescents and recovered abducted children adjust to court orders that place them with a parent they claim to hate or fear. The program's goals, principles, structure, procedures, syllabus, limitations, and outcomes are presented.
The article reports on Dr. Warshak's study of the outcomes of the first 12 families in which he was involved with Family Bridges. The sample was composed of 23 children, 8 of whom were 14 or older. The children had been alienated an average of 28 months. Seven of the rejected parents were mothers, five were fathers. At the workshop's conclusion, 22 of 23 children, all of whom had failed experiences with counseling prior to enrollment, restored a positive relationship with the rejected parent. At follow-up, 18 of the 22 children maintained their gains; those who relapsed had premature contact with the alienating parent. 34journal pages with 99 endnotes and citations to 79 social science and legal references.
CR33, journal article
Price: $14.95
Helping Alienated Children With Family Bridges: Practice, Research, and the Pursuit of Humbition
This article briefly summarizes and responds to feedback offered by Dr. Joan Kelly regarding Family Bridges: A Workshop for Troubled and Alienated Parent-Child Relationships. The article emphasize principles that promote an educational atmosphere as opposed to a therapeutic one, and the court's role in contributing to successful interventions with severely alienated children. Among the considerations discussed are: working with favored parents, economic comparisons of Family Bridges with counseling approaches, modifying the program for use in prevention and with milder cases of alienation, and issues related to training additional team leaders and conducting outcome research. 6 journal pages withcitations to 12 references.
CR34, journal article
Price: $3.75
Alienating Audiences from Innovation: The Perils of Polemics, Ideology, and Innuendo
This article discusses the importance of balancing careful scrutiny with openness to new ideas when judging innovative programs like Family Bridges. Dr. Warshak proposes that judicial responses to children who reject a parent are best governed by a multi-factor individualized approach. He shows how a presumption that allows children and one parent to regulate the other parent's access to the children is unsupported by research. A custody decision based solely on the severity of alienation leaves children vulnerable to intensification of efforts to poison their affections toward a parent. Dr. Warshak concludes that concern with possible short-term distress for some children who are required to repair a damaged relationship should not blind us to the long-term trauma of doing nothing. Professionals are urged to minimize the infusion of polemics, rigid ideology, and rumors when offering opinionswith inadequate information, particularly public statements that risk harming children. 10 journal pages with citations to 28 references.
CR35, journal article
Price: $5.75
Parental Alienation Among College Students
This article reports the results of a survey of college students regarding their parents' alienating behavior and the status of the students current relationship with each parent. The students reported a relatively high incidence of alienating behavior by divorced parents, both fathers and mothers. The finding that 29% of the college students from divorced homes were alienated from a parent supports the importance of addressing alienation in the present rather than postponing interventions with the hope that alienated parent-child relationships will heal simply with the passage of time. This study can be cited when asking the court to takeimmediate action to repair a damaged parent-child relationship before it becomes entrenched and resistant to treatment. 13 journal pages
CR41, journal article
Price: $5.75
Parental Alienation Syndrome in Court
Mental health professionals increasingly diagnose Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) in child custody matters. Critics of this diagnostic label, however, believe that it lacks an adequate scientific foundation and that testimony regarding this diagnosis, its course, and its treatment should be inadmissible.
This monograph, originally prepared as a chapter for a manual on expert witness testimony published in 1999 by the State Bar of Texas, examines the issues behind this controversy from a social science and legal perspective. Though written for attorneys, expert witnesses will also find it valuable in preparing for testimony and anticipating cross-examination. The monograph is free of jargon, so it will also help parents who are the targets of alienation or who have been falsely accused of promulgating parental alienation syndrome.
The monograph begins with a general description of parental alienation syndrome and its symptoms, recommended treatment, and research on the efficacy of alternative interventions by mental health professionals and courts.
The next section presents a critical analysis of such common issues as:
- Is parental alienation syndrome a distinct a distinct phenomenon?
- Has parental alienation syndrome passed peer review?
- Reliability and validity of parental alienation syndrome
- Does the concept of parental alienation syndrome unfairly blame one parent for family dysfunction?
- and, perhaps the most controversial issue: Should children be forced to spend time with the target parent?
A section on case law provides some citations regarding parental alienation syndrome testimony, and discusses statutes and case law regarding sanctions for visitation refusal, and articles by attorneys and judges on parental alienation syndrome. The monograph concludes with specific suggestions for proposing and opposing admission of parental alienation syndrome testimony, and a discussion of seven potential errors in diagnosing parental alienation syndrome.
This document contains 86 footnotes from a total of 58 different references, many of which can be obtained free of charge from the Internet addresses provided. A valuable resource for anyone concerned with parental alienation syndrome issues.
For other resources on alienated children and parental alienation syndrome, see CR17,CR23, CR24, CR26, and CR27 below and Dr. Warshak's book, Divorce Poison.]
CR15, monograph, 52 pages (8 x 11)
Price: $14.75
Bringing Sense to Parental Alienation:
A Look at the Disputes and the Evidence
This article, published in a prestigious law journal, is Dr. Warshak's most thorough examination to date of different ideas about pathological alienation and its status in custody litigation. It examines a continuum of opinions about parental alienation with reference to relevant scientific literature and is an attempt to introduce rationality in an area that suffers from polemics and politics.
Professionals agree that children can become irrationally alienated from a parent but disagree about what to call this problem and about how to conceptualize it. Dr. Warshak proposes that a conceptualization that emphasizes the influence of the favored parent, such as Parental Alienation Syndrome, has intellectual and scientific roots in developmental and cognitive psychology, particularly research on children's suggestibility. A conceptualization that emphasizes the role of multiple interrelated factors enjoys support in family systems theory that regards children's problematic behavior as an expression of family-wide dysfunction.
The article reviews available studies and concludes that the current status of research supports the prevailing opinion among mental health professionals that the court's authority is a key element in successful remedies of severe alienation. The article describes the possible advantages of the term "pathological alienation" and offers other suggestions for circumventing unproductive disputes and focusing on the welfare of families.
This article is essential for any parent, attorney, or mental health professional proposing or opposing evidence dealing with parental alienation. 29 journal pages.
CR27, journal article
Price: $9.75
Social Science and Parental Alienation: Examining the Disputes and the Evidence
This chapter is an updated version of CR 27, Bringing Sense to Parental Alienation. See the above description. The primary changes are the addition of a discussion of a new reliability study on parental alienation syndrome, citations to a study on the long-term effects of parental alienation syndrome, and a section on Arguments Ad Hominem. Unless the earlier, peer-reviewed and published article (CR27) is needed for purposes of litigation, this chapter will be sufficientand preferable for most purposes.
CR31, book chapter (from The International Handbook of Parental Alienation Syndrome.)
Price: $9.75
Misdiagnosis of Parental Alienation Syndrome
This article describes and illustrates three general categories of situations that superficially resemble parental alienation syndrome and can be mistaken for it. In addition to helping to reduce the incidence of misdiagnosis of parental alienation syndrome, it can assist those who are opposing the use of parental alienation syndrome in court as well as those who are proposing its use.
Those who believe that a child is suffering from parental alienation syndrome should be prepared to demonstrate that the situations described in this article do not apply to the child in question. 22 journal pages
CR24, journal article
Price: $12.75
Remarriage as a Trigger of Parental Alienation Syndrome
Maladaptive efforts to adjust to marriage subsequent to divorce (or breakup, in the case of never-married parents) can provoke or exacerbate parental alienation syndrome. The remarried parent, the other parent, the stepparent, and the child each may contribute to the disturbance. Underlying dynamics include jealousy, narcissistic injury, desire for revenge, the wish to erase the ex-spouse from the child's life in order to "make room" for the stepparent, competitive feelings between the ex-spouse and stepparent, the new couple's attempt to unite around a common enemy and avoid recognition of conflicts in the marriage, the child's attempt to resolve inner conflict, andparent-child boundary violations. Dr. Warshak discusses these dynamics, illustrates them with case examples, and offers suggestions for treatment.
CR17, journal article
Price: $4.75
Current Controversies Regarding Parental Alienation Syndrome
This work draws on 88 references to discuss the main criticisms of the term parental alienation syndrome. The article discusses alternative formulations of the disturbance in which children become irrationally alienated from a parent, including a new formulation by Dr. Joan Kelly and Dr. Janet Johnston.
Those who anticipate using or defending against the term parental alienation syndrome (PAS) in court will find the discussion of the admissibility of PAS especially helpful. This isthe first article in which Dr. Warshak explicitly addresses the statusof parental alienation syndrome (PAS) in light of the standards promulgated by the U. S. Supreme Court decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 31 journal pages
CR23, journal article
Price: $12.75
Obstacles and Controversies in the Pursuit of Children's Best Interests
This pamphlet is an expanded version of an enthusiastically received keynote address delivered by Dr. Warshak in Arizona in 2000. It proposes the types of reforms necessary for parents, professionals, and courts to better define the best interests of children.
Dr. Warshak calls for more diligence in custody evaluations and in reviews of the literature. He criticizes policies which automatically discourage joint custody when divorcing parents are in conflict. He demonstrates how false beliefs which harm children come to be accepted as established authoritative wisdom.
The discussion covers a wide ground, including Dr. Warshak's views on relocation, parental alienation syndrome, and overnight access between young children and their parents. He proposes a new paradigm of collaboration in research, custody evaluations, and the legal process of divorce. The pamphlet closes on an optimistic note, with predictions of specificareas in which custody practices and policy will improve.
CR20, pamphlet
Price: $5.75
Overnights/Parenting Plans for Young Children
CR39 - Parenting Plan Collection || CR21 - Blanket Restrictions: Overnight Contact || CR25 - Who Will Be There When I Cry In The Night? || CR28 - Payoffs and Pitfalls of Listening to Children || CR13 - Overnight Access for Young Children || CR14 - The Primary Parent Presumption || CR20 - Obstacles and Controversies in the Pursuit of Children's Best Interests
Parenting Plan Collection
This collection of six items is an easy way for parents, lawyers, and mental health professionals to acquire at a discount Dr. Warshak's publications relevant to cases involving parenting plans and residential schedules for young children, with attention to the issue of overnights. The portfolio includes three professional journal articles (one is frequently cited by professionals and in court cases), commentary to a Texas Supreme Court committee, a pamphlet based on an unpublished keynote speech, and a book chapter published by the American Bar Association. If purchased individually, these articles cost $38.00. The portfolio is offered at $19.95 (almost half price). Items included (see descriptions below): CR13, CR14, CR20,CR21, CR25, CR28.
< back to topCR39, collection of one monograph, three articles, one pamphlet, and one book chapter
Price: $19.95
Blanket Restrictions: Overnight Contact Between Divorced Parents and Young Children
In attempting to fashion developmentally-sensitive residential schedules, some courts, with the endorsement of mental health professionals, routinely deprive infants and toddlers of overnights with their fathers.
This article describes the specific type of overnight restrictions which some therapists have promoted, and the reasoning behind such guidelines. It analyzes the contributions, misuses, and limitations of theory and research relevant to overnight restrictions and discusses their scientific status with respect to current knowledge about child development.
The analysis concludes that blanket restrictions requiring young children to spend every night with the same parent after divorce are inconsistent with current knowledge about the needs and capacities of young children and their parents, and that the practice of discouraging overnight contact cannot be supported by appeals to theory, research, clinical experience, common experience, or common sense. This article was published as the lead article in a professional journal. Includes citations to 84 references. For a follow-up to this article, see CR25 below. Excerpts
CR21, journal article
Price: $9.75
Who Will Be There When I Cry In the Night? - Revisiting Overnights
This journal article is a follow-up to CR21. It was written as a rejoinder to an article that attempted to refute the conclusions drawn in the Blanket Restrictions article.
This article makes the strong case that an accurate and balanced account of the entire scientific literature relevant to the issue of overnights reveals the lack of scientific and logical justification for blanket restrictions and supports the conclusion that caution should be exercised before depriving children of a valuable experience that can help sustain their normal interaction with both parents.
If you are involved in litigation, this article may be important because it refutes objections that may be raised regarding the Blanket Restrictions article. Includes citations to 35 references. 12 journal pages
< back to topCR25, journal article
Price: $7.75
Payoffs and Pitfalls of Listening to Children
Children's perspectives can enlighten decisions regarding custody and parenting plans, but different opinions exist about how best to involve children in the decision-making process. This journal article discusses why most procedures for soliciting children's preferences do not reliably elicit information on their best interests and do not give children a meaningful voice in decision- making.
Instead these procedures give children forums in which to takes sides in their parents' disputes. Dr. Warshak shows how, in addition to hearing an individual child's voice, decision makers can use the collective voice of children, as revealed in research on joint custody, overnight contacts, and relocation, to help understand what children might say about these issues with the hindsight of maturity and in the absence of parental pressure, loyalty conflicts, inhibitions, and limitations in perspective and articulation.
This article will interest parents and legal and mental health professionals who must decide how much weight to place on a child's stated preferences. It is essential for cases in whichchildren align themselves with one parent's position in a custody dispute. Includes citations to 113 references.
< back to topCR28, journal article
Price: $9.75
Overnight Access for Young Children
In 1994 the Texas Supreme Court Committee on Child Custody was considering a recommendation of no overnight access between children under the age of three and their non custodial parents. In this written commentary to the Committee, Dr. Warshak argues that such a proposal is inconsistent with child developmental theory, research, and common sense. He points out the significant benefits to children ofhaving overnight contact with both parents. An appendix and 11 reference citations are included.
< back to topCR13, 7 pages (8 x 11)
Price: $3.00
The Primary Parent Presumption: Primarily Meaningless
The proposal to replace the best interests of the child standard in custody disputes with a preference for the primary parent has been gaining increasing support among legal and mental health professionals. This brief chapter, from a book published by the American Bar Association (based on a 1993 speech), critically appraises this proposal and finds it markedly flawed. Research demonstrates that the parent who has provided more of the daily care of the children during the marriage is not necessarily better able to raise the children as a single parent. In addition, we have no grounds for designating one parent's contribution primary andthe other parent's contribution secondary. Dr. Warshak concludes that the primary parent concept is misguided and fundamentally meaningless.
< back to topCR14, chapter
Price: $2.00
Obstacles and Controversies in the Pursuit of Children's Best Interests
This pamphlet is an expanded version of an enthusiastically received keynote address delivered by Dr. Warshak in Arizona in 2000. It proposes the types of reforms necessary for parents, professionals, and courts to better define the best interests of children.
Dr. Warshak calls for more diligence in custody evaluations and in reviews of the literature. He criticizes policies which automatically discourage joint custody when divorcing parents are in conflict. He demonstrates how false beliefs which harm children come to be accepted as established authoritative wisdom.
The discussion covers a wide ground, including Dr. Warshak's views on relocation, parental alienation syndrome, and overnight access between young children and their parents. He proposes a new paradigm of collaboration in research, custody evaluations, and the legal process of divorce. The pamphlet closes on an optimistic note, with predictions ofspecific areas in which custody practices and policy will improve.
< back to topCR20, pamphlet
Price: $5.75
Relocation (Moveaway)
CR38 - Relocation Collection || CR16 - Social Science and Relocation Litigation || CR22 - Children's Best Interests in Relocation Cases: Burgess Revisited || CR18 - Relocation Litigation - Bar report article || CR28 - Payoffs and Pitfalls of Listening to Children || CR20 - Obstacles and Controversies in the Pursuit of Children's Best Interests
Relocation Collection
This collection of five items is an easy way for parents, lawyers, and mental health professionals to acquire at a discount Dr. Warshak's publications relevant to cases involving a proposed relocation or moveaway by one parent with the child(ren) away from the other parent. The portfolio includes one monograph based on a chapter for a difficult to acquire manual published by the State Bar of Texas for judges and attorneys, three published articles, and one pamphlet based on an unpublished keynote speech. If purchased individually, this material costs $42.75. The portfolio is offered at $33.95 (more than 20% off). Items included (see descriptions below): CR16, CR18, CR20, CR22, CR28. [Note the similarity between CR16 and CR22.]
< back to topCR38, collection of one monograph, thee articles, and one pamphlet
Price: $33.95
Social Science and Relocation Litigation
This treatment of relocation issues includes everything in CR22 plus all the material that was deleted from that article because of the journal's space limitations. In addition to the topics described in CR22, this monograph covers an overview of legal and policy issues in relocation cases, a discussion of case law (with citations to 39 cases and 16 articles in law publications), a list of factors to consider in relocation litigation proposed by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, greater elaboration of social science studies, practice tips for attorneys, and suggestions for proposing and opposing relocation.
For other resources on relocation, see CR18 and CR22.
< back to topCR16, monograph, 90 pages (8 x 11)
Limited time only price reduction: $12.75
Social Science and Children's Best Interests In Relocation Cases: Burgess Revisited
This law journal article, published in 2000, reviews and analyzes psychological research and considerations that relate to relocation decisions. It can assist attorneys in dealing with expert testimony in relocation litigation. Expert witnesses will find it valuable in preparing for testimony and anticipating cross-examination. Parents facing decisions regarding relocation of their children will also find it helpful.
The Burgess decision provides the context for this discussion with special attention to the arguments and research discussed in Wallerstein's amica curiae brief. Dr. Warshak identifies and explains crucial errors and oversights in the brief that detract from its value as a guide to children's best interests in relocation decisions. He shows that the brief is inconsistent with a large volume of empirical research and with Wallerstein's own earlier published findings and opinions.
The article covers the importance of the custodial mother-child relationship, the significance of frequent father-child contact, the relationship between quantity and quality of contact, direct studies of relocation, the impact of the relocation decision on the custodial parent, the financial impact of relocation, joint custody and relocation, hardships of travel and access schedules following relocation, motives and reasonableness of plans, the role of children's preferences in relocation decisions, relocation and parental alienation syndrome, custody evaluations, and limitations of social science studies which courts should be aware of before applying research findings to relocation dispositions. Includes citations to 82 social sciencereferences. Due to space limitations, the published article is half as long as the original manuscript. The complete version is available as item CR16.
< back to topCR22, journal article
Price: $10.75
Relocation Litigation And Children's Best Interests: Revisiting Burgess
This article appeared in a 1999 State Bar of Texas Family Law Section Report. It was adapted from the relocation monograph described as item CR16 in this catalog. Readers interested in an abbreviated overview of the monograph will find this article helpful, but it lacks the documentation of the more complete publication (e.g., 20 versus 199 endnotes).
The article discusses the relevance and utility of social science in relocation disputes, and it addresses the central psychological arguments relied upon by the Burgess court in favoring a presumption for relocation.
Dr. Warshak identifies and explains crucial errors and oversights in that decision that detract from its value as a guide to children's best interests in relocation decisions. Specific factors addressed include: the significance of the custodial mother-child relationship, the significance of frequent father-child contact, joint custody and relocation, hardships of travel and access schedules following relocation, and the role of children's preferences in relocation decisions.
CR18, article
Price: $3.75
Payoffs and Pitfalls of Listening to Children
Children's perspectives can enlighten decisions regarding custody and parenting plans, but different opinions exist about how best to involve children in the decision-making process. This journal article discusses why most procedures for soliciting children's preferences do not reliably elicit information on their best interests and do not give children a meaningful voice in decision- making.
Instead these procedures give children forums in which to takes sides in their parents' disputes. Dr. Warshak shows how, in addition to hearing an individual child's voice, decision makers can use the collective voice of children, as revealed in research on joint custody, overnight contacts, and relocation, to help understand what children might say about these issues with the hindsight of maturity and in the absence of parental pressure, loyalty conflicts, inhibitions, and limitations in perspective and articulation.
This article will interest parents and legal and mental health professionals who must decide how much weight to place on a child's stated preferences. It is essential for cases in which children align themselves with one parent's position in a custody dispute. Includes citations to 113 references.
< back to topCR28, journal article
Price: $9.75
Obstacles and Controversies in the Pursuit of Children's Best Interests
This pamphlet is an expanded version of an enthusiastically received keynote address delivered by Dr. Warshak in Arizona in 2000. It proposes the types of reforms necessary for parents, professionals, and courts to better define the best interests of children.
Dr. Warshak calls for more diligence in custody evaluations and in reviews of the literature. He criticizes policies which automatically discourage joint custody when divorcing parents are in conflict. He demonstrates how false beliefs which harm children come to be accepted as established authoritative wisdom.
The discussion covers a wide ground, including Dr. Warshak's views on relocation, parentalalienation syndrome, and overnight access between young children and their parents. He proposes a new paradigm of collaboration in research, custody evaluations, and the legal process of divorce. The pamphlet closes on an optimistic note, with predictions of specific areas in which custody practices and policy will improve.
< back to topCR20, pamphlet
Price: $5.75
Child Custody and Divorce Resources: General
CR43 – Approximation Rule – 2 articles || CR40 - Child Custody & Divorce ResourceCollection || CR01 - Child Custody Research Portfolio || CR03 - Father Custody and Child Development || CR19 - Father-Custody Families: Therapeutic Goals and Strategies || CR04 - How Children Fare in Father Custody Homes || CR05 - The Custody Revolution - Pamphlet || CR07 - Joint Custody Is Feasible || CR08 - Keeping Fathers Involved || CR09 - Child Custody: Reform, Research, Common Sense - Testimony || CR12 - Gender Bias in Child Custody Decisions || CR14 - The Primary Parent Presumption || CR20 - Obstacles and Controversies inthe Pursuit of Children's Best Interests
Two Articles on the Approximation Rule and Child Custody Decisions.
1) Parenting By The Clock: The Best-Interest-of-The-Child Standard, Judicial Discretion, and the American Law Institute's "Approximation Rule"
2) The Approximation Rule Survey: The American Law Institute's Proposed Reform Misses the Target
The American Law Institute (ALI) proposes that in contested physical custody cases the court should allocate to each parent a proportion of the child's time that approximates the proportion of time each spent performing caretaking functions in the past. Proposals from ALI strongly influence legislatures and judges. These articles analyze the "approximation rule" through the lens of child development research and conclude that the rule is unlikely to improve on the best-interest-of-the-child standard.
This law review article is useful in cases where a custody evaluator recommends against shared custody because of the presence of conflict between the parents. The most recent scientific studies cited in this review show that children can benefit from joint custody even when parents are in conflict. The article also makes the point that some conflict between parents is instigated primarily by one parent who seeks to marginalize the other parent's relationship with the children. These studies can be used in cross-examination of mental health expert witnesses.
The law review scholarly article draws on a wealth of research (more than 400 footnotes) and concludes that: 1) public policies that encourage children's involvement with both parents after divorce are consistent with the scientific literature and with prevailing public sentiment; 2) legislation should define the best interests of children to include parenting plans that maximize parenting time, when feasible and when no circumstances exist that endanger the health, safety, or well-being of the children or a parent, such as violence, abuse, gross neglect, severely compromised parenting due to severe mental illness or severe substance abuse, or extremely poor and harmful behavior toward the children; 3) evidence is accumulating that closer to equal distributions of time are linked to better outcomes for most children and parents; 4) an exact equal-time presumption, though, may bring similar liabilities as presumptions that elevate a single factor (e.g., gender, past caretaking, or children's preferences) above all others. For instance, if a parent uses additional time with the children to undermine their love and respect for the other parent, this behavior may offset the benefits of more time with the parent who manipulates the children in this manner. But, more time with the parent who is the target of bad-mouthing may help children resist efforts to turn them against that parent.
The article defends the best-interests standard as preferable when it retains the benefits to children of individualized decision making while operating in the context of contemporary reforms that accommodate new knowledge and encourage non-adversarial resolutions ofcustody disputes. The survey article presents the results of the first survey of lawyers and child custody evaluators regarding the approximation rule. Law review article- 81 journal pages, Survey article-11 pages
< back to topCR43
law review + survey articles
Price: $14.95
Child Custody and Divorce Resource Collection
This collection of 16 items is an easy way for parents, lawyers, and mental health professionals to acquire at a discount Dr. Warshak's publications relevant to issues of father custody, joint custody, mother custody, and children's role in custody decisions. The collection includes a portfolio of seven documents which originally appeared as chapters in professional books and articles in professional journals, one book chapter and one article published by the American Bar Association, four pamphlets based on speeches, one journal article, one DVD, and transcript of testimony to a U. S. Commission on Child and Family Welfare that is available exclusively on this website. If purchased individually, this material costs $82.50. The portfolio is offered at $65.95 (20% off). Items included (see descriptions below): CR01, CR04, CR05, CR07, CR08, CR09, CR12, CR14, CR20, CR30.
< back to topCR40, collection of sixteen journal articles, book chapters, pamphlets, testimony, and DVD
Price: $65.95
Child Custody Research Portfolio
This portfolio, prepared in 1992, consists of seven documents which originally appeared as chapters in professional books or articles in professional journals, all published between 1979 and 1987.
One article reviews the literature on father-custody and contains an extensive reference list with complete bibliographic citations. (This item is available separately: See CR03 on this list for a more complete description.)
One chapter describes characteristics of father-custody families, our society's prejudice against such families, and how therapists can assist these families. The discussion stresses the importance of having flexible guidelines for children's post-divorce living arrangements, promoting co parenting relationships, and preparing the children for the separation. There are sections on facilitating the mother-child relationship, the father-child relationship, and strengthening support systems. (This item is available separately: See CR19 on this list for a more complete description.)
The remaining five documents are the original studies of the Texas Custody Research Project, with appropriate statistical analyses, discussions of the implications of the results for custody policy, and complete reference lists (one chapter lists 59 references). The documents in this portfolio have been extensively cited in the professional literature on divorce. They have alsobeen introduced as evidence in custody litigation and have been presented in legislatures throughout the country.
< back to topCR01, portfolio
Price: $39.00
Father Custody and Child Development: A Review and Analysis of Psychological Research
This 1986 journal article begins with a discussion of three different strategies used by social scientists to study father-custody families, and analyzes the benefits and drawbacks of each approach.
The next section reviews the results of research comparing children's functioning in father-custody and mother custody homes. Children's reactions to the separation are examined as well as their attitudes about the divorce, their personality, their emotional and social development, and their relationships with their parents.
The article then examines some factors associated with better outcomes for children in father-custody homes. Such factors include the sex of the child, the quality of the parents' relationship with each other, the parenting style of the custodial parent, the child's relationship with the non custodial parent, and the reliance on non parental child care.
This article integrates the findings of the Texas Custody Research Project with the results of other studies of divorce. Because it is a review article, it does not provide detailed descriptions and results of the studies. (Such details are available in the portfolio described above.)
The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of custody research for judicial policy and calls for an end to an a priori preference for mother-custody. A reference list isincluded with complete citations of divorce research (including 28 father-custody studies). NOTE: This article is included in CR01.
< back to topCR03, journal article
Price: $6.00
Father-Custody Families
This book chapter describes characteristics of father-custody families, including the children's and parents' reactions. Unique problems of father-custody families are discussed such as the prejudice faced by custodial fathers and non custodial mothers in our society.
The second half of the chapter describes how psychotherapists can assist father-custody families. The discussion stresses the importance of having flexible guidelines for children's post-divorce living arrangements, promoting co parenting relationships, and preparing the children for the separation.
There are sections on facilitating the mother-child relationship, the father-child relationship, and strengthening support systems. Strategies for accomplishing these therapeutic goals are presented and illustrated with case studies. Although this chapter appeared in a book fortherapists, for the most part the language is non-technical and can be understood by parents and attorneys without training in psychology. NOTE: This article is included in CR01.
< back to topCR19, book chapter, 24 pages
Price: $6.75
How Children Fare in Father-Custody Homes
This 1993 article from Family Advocate (published by the American Bar Association) gives a very brief, non technical overview of some of the material presented in the review article described above (CR03).
This article covers: biases held by professionals who deal with custody, why men seek custody, how fathers manage the responsibilities of custody, how children in father-custody homes initially react to the breakup of the family, attitudes about divorce held by father-custody children, a comparison of children's longer-term adjustment in father-custody and mother-custody homes, the crucial discovery that, in general, children adjust better in the custody of the same-sex parent, and the manner in which psychological research can play an important role in custody decisions and litigation.
< back to topCR04, journal article
Price: $2.00
The Custody Revolution: Beyond Fathers' Rights and
Mothers' Rights
This speech inspired a standing ovation from the audience at the 1993 national conference of the Children's Rights Council. It begins by describing the context in which the Texas Custody Research Project originated, and then recaps the project's main findings, including "the gender connection."
Dr. Warshak discusses the type of fundamental changes he advocates and, in a more personal vein, describes his pre-publication worries about how The Custody Revolution would be received and compares this to the astonishing range of responses he actually received from colleagues and the public.He stresses the importance of finding an effective strategy for promoting new ideas and gives examples of how psychological theory and research are misused in the defense of misguided custody policies.
Dr. Warshak then argues against the concept of the "primary parent" and concludes with aunique discussion of the link between the popularity of Batman and the prevalence of father absence in our culture.
< back to topCR05, pamphlet
Price: $6.00
Joint Custody Is Feasible
This 1993 essay, based on remarks delivered to the Association of Family & Conciliation Courts, defends joint custody as realistic and beneficial. It discusses the facts that are often ignored by joint custody's detractors, and describes why some social scientists are reluctant to support joint custody.
Dr. Warshak illustrates conventional custody's harmful impact on children by analyzing a parody of Jingle Bells that is currently popular among boys. He then argues for a cultural and legal presumption of joint custody, which he sees as our best hope for alleviating the problems experienced by divorced families.
< back to topCR07, pamphlet
Price: $3.00
Keeping Fathers Involved
This essay, based on remarks to the American Orthopsychiatry Association in 1994, focuses on the role mental health professionals play in perpetuating gender stereotypes that interfere with healthy father-child relationships after divorce.
Dr. Warshak analyzes the biases that support such practices as discouraging overnight contact of young children. He advises therapists to avoid routine skepticism regarding the desire of fathers to spend more time with their children than they did before the marital breakup. Typically this is dismissed as a ploy in the custody battle, but Dr. Warshak believes alternative interpretations should be considered.
The essay provides specific recommendations to help keep fathers involved even when severe inter parental conflict exists.
< back to topCR08, pamphlet
Price: $4.00
Child Custody: Reform, Research, and Common Sense: Testimony to U.S. Commission
In April 1995, Dr. Warshak was invited to testify before a hearing on custody and visitation conducted by the U.S. Commission on Child and Family Welfare. His remarks offer a detailed, but concise and clear review of the major conclusions reached by divorce researchers and seven specific recommendations to maximize the well-being of children after divorce.
Among the topics covered are the harm caused by conventional approaches to custody and access, the short and long term effects of divorce on children--particularly the erosion of father-child relationships, father-custody homes, factors associated with better outcomes in children, the feasibility of joint custody, parents' and children's reactions to joint custody, and the link between joint custody and child support compliance. Dr. Warshak advises the Commissioners to reject a primary caretaker standard. A two-page summary, two appendices, and 50 reference citations are included.
< back to topCR09, 27 pages (8 x 11)
Price: $7.00
Gender Bias in Child Custody Decisions
A few high profile cases in which working mothers have lost custody have captured the attention of the media and led to cries of judicial bias. Dr. Warshak was asked to address this issue in a plenary session of the 1995 annual conference of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and his remarks were the basis for this journal article.
It begins by discussing the manner in which gender stereotypes have shaped custody decisions throughout history and then takes up the question of whether, and in what form, gender bias is part of the current custody scene. Avoiding simplistic approaches to the topic, this article examines a range of criticisms leveled at the best-interests-of-the-child standard, from both women's and men's advocacy groups.
Dr. Warshak explains why allegations of systematic discrimination are difficult to evaluate and he gives examples of how advocacy groups and the media misrepresent the state of research in order to support their preconceived opinions.
Conceding that the absence of reliable data on the question of gender bias in court decisions invites rhetoric in place of reason, the article next addresses the wider issue of whether gender bias rules the ninety percent of cases decided outside of court. Dr. Warshak shows why the question "Which parent should get custody?" lies at the heart of gender bias claims. He then examines four explanations which have been offered to defend the mother's preferential claim to custody, and concludes that the best scientific evidence proves that neither nature nor experience gives women a monopoly on parental competence either before or after divorce. This section offers a more detailed analysis and criticism of the primary parent standard than in Dr. Warshak's previous work.
The article ends with a brief discussion of research findings which demonstrate the need for a new approach to custody decisions that guarantee children their birthright to both parents. A suggestion is offered to ensure that custody reform reflects the needs of children rather than the demands of adults. An abstract and 39 reference citations are included.
< back to topCR11, audiotape (20 minutes)
Audiotape Sorry, the tape is sold out. The article is still available.CR12, journal article
Price: $4.00
The Primary Parent Presumption: Primarily Meaningless
The proposal to replace the best interests of the child standard in custody disputes with a preference for the primary parent has been gaining increasing support among legal and mental health professionals. This brief chapter, from a book published by the American Bar Association (based on a 1993 speech), critically appraises this proposal and finds it markedly flawed. Research demonstrates that the parent who has provided more of the daily care of the children during the marriage is not necessarily better able to raise the children as a single parent. In addition, we have no grounds for designating one parent's contribution primary and the other parent's contribution secondary. Dr. Warshak concludes that the primary parent concept is misguided and fundamentally meaningless.
< back to topCR14, chapter
Price: $2.00
Obstacles and Controversies in the Pursuit of Children's Best Interests
This pamphlet is an expanded version of an enthusiastically received keynote address delivered by Dr. Warshak in Arizona in 2000. It proposes the types of reforms necessary for parents, professionals, and courts to better define the best interests of children.
Dr. Warshak calls for more diligence in custody evaluations and in reviews of the literature. He criticizes policies which automatically discourage joint custody when divorcing parents are in conflict. He demonstrates how false beliefs which harm children come to be accepted as established authoritative wisdom.
The discussion covers a wide ground, including Dr. Warshak's views on relocation, parental alienation syndrome, and overnight access between young children and their parents. He proposes a new paradigm of collaboration in research, custody evaluations, and the legal process of divorce. The pamphlet closes on an optimistic note, with predictions of specific areas in which custody practices and policy will improve.
< back to topCR20, pamphlet
Price: $5.75
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< back to top
Divorce, Relocation
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Eltern-Kind-Entfremdung und Sozialwissenschaften - Sachlichkeit statt Polemik, Zentralblatt für Jugendrecht (ZfJ) No.5, May (2005): 186-200. Translation of title: Parental Alienation and Social Science: Replacing Polemics with Reason
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Workshop has Scientific Support - May 18, 2010 LawTimes (Canada)Read
"Scripted lines" in Goldman case instructive - January 17, 2010 Asbury Park Press. Read
Divorce Doesn't Have to Devastate the Children - March 3, 2002 The Dallas Morning News
Children Often Manipulated in Custody Fights - May 2, 2000 The Dallas Morning News
Child Custody: Flawed System Needs Repair - October 18, 1992 The Dallas Morning News
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> Go to page to read Talking Points.
