This article, published in the American Psychological Association journal, Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, addresses concerns that some children are incorrectly identified as alienated and some parents are falsely accused of alienating behavior. The greater the prevalence of errors, the more courts will view claims of parental alienation with skepticism. To guard against such errors this article emphasizes the importance of thoroughly investigating reasonable alternative explanations of children’s and parents’ behaviors. Such an investigation includes attention to seven criteria that distinguish irrationally alienated children from children whose negative or rejecting behaviors do not constitute parental alienation.

The article also lists and discusses a dozen areas of methodologically rigorous research on psychological processes and parenting styles that characterize parental alienating behaviors and their impact on children. Dr. Warshak’s goal in writing this article was to reduce the incidence of false positive identifications of parental alienation, decrease skepticism about parental alienation claims, and reinforce the importance of attending to signs that a child is being taught to hate a parent.