Divorce is never easy for anyone, but for a child, coping with a divorce can be more difficult than it is for other members of the family. This is especially true for divorces that involve a lot of conflict or disagreements between the spouses. In high-conflict divorces, everyone feels the effects of the split, especially a child. In some cases, a parent may even use a son or daughter to his or her advantage during the divorce by pitting the child against their soon-to-be-ex spouse. Parental alienation is a serious issue present in some contentious divorces that can not only cause issues during the divorce process but can have lasting effects on the relationship between the child and his or her parents.

What Is Parental Alienation?

Parental alienation occurs when one parent uses various strategies and methods to isolate his or her child from the other parent and attempts to sabotage or harm the relationship between them. Most of the time, this type of behavior is intentional by the acting parent and is intended to “get back at” or hurt the other parent. While parental alienation is aimed at harming the other parent, the child becomes collateral damage and can suffer emotional and mental distress and other long-term effects.