In cases where the well-being of a child is at issue, sometimes parents will resort to inappropriate measures. Illinois law recognizes one of the most insidious—known as parental alienation—as a possible reason to adjust a parenting plan or custody arrangement. Many people, however, do not understand parental alienation or how to recognize the signs of it.

Definitions and Symptoms

While there is currently some debate as to whether parental alienation syndrome (PAS) is a true disorder, this question is all but irrelevant in the legal system, where the effects of parental alienation are very real. Parental alienation, in legal terms, occurs when a child is influenced or brainwashed into believing the worst of one parent, most often by the other parent—though sometimes by a grandparent or someone else close to the alienator. The ultimate goal is usually to get the child to totally reject the other parent. This most often happens during custody or divorce proceedings, though it can, in theory, occur at any time in a child’s life.