Recurrent Misinformation Regarding Parental Alienation Theory

Abstract

Misinformation regarding parental alienation theory has been published many times in journals and books since the 1980s. This article discusses a specific example of misinformation, i.e., variations of the statement: Parental alienation theory assumes that the favored parent has caused parental alienation in the child simply because the child refuses to have a relationship with the rejected parent, without identifying or proving alienating behaviors by the preferred parent. This is an unusual phenomenon, i.e., the same misinformation was found in journal articles, books, and presentations by critics of parental alienation 40 times between 1994 and 2020. This trail of recurrent misinformation is not trivial; it is a major misrepresentation of basic tenets of parental alienation theory. The article concludes with action items, including the proposal that these false statements should be corrected and/or the journal articles should be withdrawn from publication.