Review of research and case law on parental alienation

Abstract

This review of research and case law on the topic of parental alienation aims to provide an evidence base to guide practice for Cafcass Cymru. The notion of parental alienation was first recognised by Wallerstein and Kelly in 1976, but it was Gardner's assertion in 1987 that parental alienation was a syndrome, that is, a mental condition suffered by children who had been alienated by their mothers, which has led to debate over the last 30 years. However, despite a wealth of papers<br/ >written by academics, legal and mental health professionals, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on the topic."<br/ ><br/ >Open access