Parental Alienation Awareness Organization USA

Parental alienation, simply put, occurs when one parent turns a child against the other parent and his or her family. Parental alienation manifests as the systematic denigration of one parent by the other with the intent of disrupting what would otherwise be a loving parent-child bond. This behavior can accompany high-conflict marriages, but most often accompanies family separation or divorce where legal action is involved. Whether verbal or not, the behavior causes a child to be mentally manipulated or bullied into believing a loving parent is the cause of all their problems, and/or an enemy to be feared, hated, disrespected and avoided.