The Parental Alienation Construct A Qualitative Analysis Of The Specialty Literature

Parental alienation (PA) is a phenomenon being identified more and more in the specialty literature dealing with the type of relationships established between the child and the parents, post-divorce or separation. It was considered to be introduced into the DSM V under the form of Parental Alienation Disorder (PAD), a newer form of what was initially called the Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS). The purpose of this study was a survey of the works that dealt with the concept of parental alienation (PA), for identifying the way in which it is defined and recognized in the specialty literature, for a clearer definition of the parental alienation phenomenon. An initial number of 447 studies was selected, and after applying the eligibility criteria, 120 studies remained. From the point of view of the content, 85 studies were identified in reference to the conceptual delimitations of the parental alienation (PA) term, 17 studies referring to arguments pro/against the introduction of the concepts defining parental alienation (PA) in the clinical scope, and 18 studies referring to the method of assessment of parental alienation (PA). In relation to the methodology used, 20 quantitative studies, 12 qualitative studies, 2 mixed studies (quantitative and qualitative) and 86 articles on theoretical aspects concerning parental alienation were identified. The conclusions of this research shows, reviewing the scientific literature, the existence of some controversies regarding the use of Parental Alienation (PA) and Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS). However, it is seen that the most authors prefer to use the phrase Parental Alienation (PA) instead of Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS), because it is considered that this phrase describe better the affection of child-parent relationship after divorce.There are few empirical studies sustaining the validity of these concepts, a considerable gap thus forming on this segment. It is noted that a higher number of quantitative studies is needed to allow a clearer definition of the concept of parental alienation (PA) backed by empirical data.

Keywords: parental alienation, parental alienation syndrome, parental alienation disorder, divorce, psychological impact, social work with families