Powerless to parent; powerless to protect: The experiences of alienated parents in the UK

Journal title MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA
Author/s Sue Whitcombe
Publishing Year 2017 Issue 2017/1
Language English Pages 20 P. 47-66 File size 244 KB
DOI 10.3280/MAL2017-001004
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Parental alienation is the unwarranted denigration or rejection of a parent where there was a previous loving relationship. Despite thirty years of study establishing its aetiology, preva-lence, appropriate interventions and outcomes for children, parental alienation remains a highly contentious concept in the UK. Additionally, there has been minimal exploration of the experiences of alienated parents across the globe. A recent Q analysis uncovered the subjective and intersubjective experiences of British alienated parents. An unexpected con-sensus became apparent which merited further analysis of the data. Through this phenome-nological exploration of the participants’ narratives, a pervasive sense of "powerlessness" emerged. The source of this felt sense of powerlessness is considered and recommendations for policy and practice are suggested.

Keywords: Parental alienation, family conflict, psychological harm, family law, parent.

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Sue Whitcombe, Powerless to parent; powerless to protect: The experiences of alienated parents in the UK in "MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA" 1/2017, pp 47-66, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2017-001004