Parental alienation is a term that refers to one parent behaving in ways that attempt to alienate a child from the other parent in the case of separation or divorce, according to McGill University. The alienating parent is usually the custodial parent and typically ends up being the mother. Parental alienation can range from off-hand comments about the other parent in front of the child, to withholding visits and monitoring phone calls, to false allegations of abuse. Parental alienation often results in serious psychological effects on the children involved.
Poor Impulse Control
Parental alienation can lead to poor impulse control as children get older, according to the Fathers Are Capable Too website. Poor impulse control is often associated with anger, violence and substance abuse.
Lack of Self-Confidence And Self-Esteem
Problems with self esteem and self confidence are especially evident with boys when the father has been eliminated from the home, according to the Parental Alienation website. As the process of programming against the alienated parent continues, so does the decline of confidence and self esteem in the child.
Separation Anxiety
At times when parental alienation occurs with a young child, he may end up becoming very clingy to the programming parent. He may experience bouts of separation anxiety at times when the situation doesn't appear to call for it, and when he is well past the age that most kids would feel it at all, says Fathers Are Capable Too website.
Development of Phobias
Children involved in a parental alienation situation may develop phobias, such as fear of abandonment and fear of going to school, says the Parental Alienation site. These fears stem from the overriding fear that something may happen to the programming parent, and the child will be left to fend for herself.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
As relationships deteriorate and the custodial parent continues to speak poorly of the alienated parent, the child may look for security and normalcy in unhealthy ways. He may develop obsessive compulsive disorder as a means of coping with instability. OCD can manifest itself in many ways, including the creation of complex routines for everyday tasks, or obsessive hand washing.
Depression
When a family splits up, and one parent is alienated from the rest of the group, the effect can be like the death of an entire half of a family all at once on a child, says McGill University. As an example, if the father has been alienated to look less than desirable, the child may no longer see him, or the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins on his father's side of the family. This can lead to a prolonged depression.
References
- Fathers Are Capable Too: Identifying Cases of Parental Alienation Syndrome
- Parental Alienation: Problems Suffered By Children Due to the Effects of Parental Alienation Syndrome
- Divorce Source: Parental Alienation--Symptoms of Alienation
- Stop Parental Alienation of Children: The Problem of Parental Alienation
- McGill University (Canada): Expanding the Parameters of Parental Alienation Syndrome
