Divorce is difficult for everyone, and the majority of parents, despite all the distress, can only hope to ensure their kids don’t get affected by it. However, with a lot of intense feelings at play, a parent may intentionally or unintentionally discourage the children from accepting the other parent. This is referred to as parental alienation syndrome, or simply, parental alienation.
Let’s take a deeper look at what parental alienation is and what is its long-term impact.
What is parental alienation?
If a child has been successfully alienated by a parent, they may demonstrate hostile behavior against the other parent. The worst part is, the child may express hatred or fear of the rejected parent. Even if this child and the rejected parent had a healthy relationship, they’ll deny, stating that they aren’t aware of any positive experiences or good times. In addition, they wouldn’t like to see or talk to the rejected parent and maybe quite dismissive and negative.
There are children who can resist the pressure to select a parent over the other. However, when they’re not able to, becoming alienated is the only option left. They’ll dismiss the rejected parent without giving any justifications. This isn’t decided by the actual experiences with the rejected parent but by the emotional manipulation of the accepted parent.
What is its long-term impact?
Some long-term effects of parental alienation on the child consist of:
- Developing and sustaining relationships:Alienated children would have problems forming healthy relationships throughout their life. This is because they’ve been trained to completely avoid a flawed person. Often, they’re not forgiving or flexible because accepting even minor flaws isn’t what they’re taught.
- Little or no tolerance of hostility or anger:A study reports that alienated children usually have a very low tolerance level for any sort of hostility or anger. Usually, they find it difficult to amend their mistakes or take responsibility for their part. They can’t tolerate negative feelings and panic when they sense disapproval.
- Splitting:This is a psychological phenomenon where others are viewed as either ‘all bad’ or ‘all good’—there’s no in-between. The person suffering from this disorder has to split so he can cope with life and relationships.
When these children grow into adults, they’ll be at risk of becoming psychologically vulnerable or dependent as they look for controlling partners to imitate the dependency in childhood.
Ron Marquez Law Corp can help you reach an equitable, fair conclusion
There’s no doubt that parental alienation is a complex issue. However, with increased understanding and intervention from our divorce lawyer in Chico, CA, the mental health and emotional issues that produce these cases can be eased.
Contact us now. Our Chico, California, family law attorneys can find solutions!
