Leyfi til að elska - mar. 2023, Blaðsíða 43

Poustie et al. 19
be considered an extension of family violence postseparation wherein abu-
sive ex-partners continue to abuse their former partners and children.
Targeted parents in this study described alienating behaviors as a form of
nonphysical child abuse that the System misjudges or ignores. Indeed, it is
argued here that the behaviors or tactics used by alienating parents and the
outcomes of these can aptly be considered child abuse. In Australia, emo-
tional maltreatment (aka “emotional abuse” or “psychological abuse”) refers
to “a parent’s . . . inappropriate verbal or symbolic acts toward a child” or
“any non-accidental behaviour by parents . . . that is outside the norms of
conduct and entails a substantial risk of causing physical or emotional harm
to a child” (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2015). Specifically, alien-
ating behaviors could be viewed as any combination of the following sub-
types of emotional maltreatment as identified by Australian Institute of
Family Studies (2015):
•• Corrupting: The parent “mis-socializes” the child, encouraging them
to engage in maladaptive antisocial behaviour and deviance (cf.
“Encouraging defiance and alliance”).
•• Isolating: The parent cuts the child off from social experiences and
prevents them from forming relationships (cf. “Disrupting targeted
parent-targeted child time” and “Erasing the targeted parent for the
child’s life”).
•• Terrorizing: The parent creates a climate of fear, making the child
believe the world is hostile and capricious (cf. “Emotional manipula-
tion” and “Defamation of the targeted parent”).
Targeted Parents and Coping
On an encouraging note, this study uncovered a clear indication of active
coping and resilience in the targeted parent population. Many targeted par-
ents are taking action to educate themselves to maximize their own under-
standing and coping, raising awareness to increase support for all affected by
parental alienation, finding, and appreciating the support of friends and fam-
ily, and generally taking a stance of resilience and stoicism (Clarkson &
Clarkson, 2008; Rand, 2011). These findings are consistent with Baker and
Fine’s (2014) recommendations for coping with parental alienation.
This finding has positive implications for therapeutic approaches to ame-
liorate parental alienation. Resilience could act as a protective factor for tar-
geted parents in a demoralizing or anxiety-provoking context of therapeutic
and legal interventions for parental alienation. These coping attitudes and
behaviors may also indicate that some (if not most) targeted parents would be
43
GLEYMDA FORELDRIÐ: FORELDRAÚTILOKUN FRÁ SJÓNARHÓLI ÚTSETTA FORELDRISINS CLARE POUSTIE O.FL.