Leyfi til að elska - mar. 2023, Blaðsíða 42
18 Journal of Family Issues 00(0)
common experience of a sense of loss and powerlessness (Vassiliou &
Cartwright, 2001), an increased risk of suicide among targeted parents (Kruk,
2013) and targeted parents living with a “lingering sense of trauma and depri-
vation of their [parent]hood” (Finzi-Dottan et al., 2012, p. 322). Parental
alienation clearly causes significant psychological pain, which legal and
mental health care fields need to acknowledge and work toward reducing.
Existing literature indicates that alienation affects the mental well-being
of targeted children in both the short- and long-term (Ben-Ami & Baker,
2012; Godbout & Parent, 2012; Johnston, Walters, & Olesen, 2005). The
present study makes it clear that targeted parents are often deeply concerned
about their child’s known or feared psychosocial problems associated with
parental alienation. Key concerns included both internalizing problems, such
as mood disorders, as well as externalizing problems, such as disordered con-
duct and substance use. This concern for the child’s mental well-being could
be a distinguishing factor of parental alienation from estrangement such that
targeted parents express concern for their child, whereas abusive or neglect-
ful parents may show less concern.
As they grapple with parental alienation, many targeted parents attempt to
understand the mental health state of the alienating parent. It is not a new
finding that targeted parents attribute alienating behaviors to the alienating
parent’s emotions, specifically anger, revenge, hate, or some mix of those
(Baker & Fine, 2014; Vassiliou & Cartwright, 2001). As indicated in previous
literature, our respondents viewed parental alienation and alienating behav-
iors as a precipitant of unresolved family-of-origin problems, personality dis-
orders, externalizing of unresolved grief and narcissistic injury (Baker, 2005,
2006; Ellis & Boyan, 2010; Kopetski, 1998; Lund, 1995; Rand, 1997).
Targeted Parents and Family Violence
A number of participants described past instances of intimate partner vio-
lence perpetrated by the alienating parent that triggered parental separation
and ultimately resulted in parental alienation. These descriptions are consis-
tent with narratives provided in Baker and Fine (2014). Kelly and Johnston
(2008) described intimate partner violence as a pattern of behavior used in a
relationship to gain and maintain control over a significant other. They
described coercive controlling violence as behaviors involving intimidation,
emotional manipulation, isolation, minimizing or denying their behavior, and
enacting their control attempts via their children. Alienating behaviors could
be viewed as coercive and controlling violence against an ex-partner. In cases
of parental alienation, control and power over the ex-partner is maintained by
controlling the contact targeted parents have with their children. This could
42
GLEYMDA FORELDRIÐ: FORELDRAÚTILOKUN FRÁ SJÓNARHÓLI ÚTSETTA FORELDRISINS CLARE POUSTIE O.FL.