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                            Library & Multimedia
 U.S. child custody outcomes in cases involving parental alienation and abuse allegations: what do the data show?
NCJ Number
              304418
Journal

*JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE LAW* Volume: 42 Issue: 1 Dated: 2020 Pages: 92-105
Author(s)
          Joan S. Meier
Date Published

2020
Length
              14 pages
Annotation
              Since family-court and abuse professionals have long been polarized over the use of parental alienation claims to discredit a mother alleging that the father has been abusive or is unsafe for the children, this paper reports the findings from an empirical study of 10 years of U.S. cases involving abuse and alienation claims.
Abstract
              The findings confirm that mothers’ claims of abuse, especially child physical or sexual abuse, increase their risk of losing custody, and that fathers’ cross-claims of alienation virtually double that risk. Alienation’s impact is gender-specific; fathers alleging mothers are abusive are not similarly undermined when mothers cross-claim alienation. In non-abuse cases, however, the data suggest that alienation has a more gender-neutral impact. These nuanced findings may help abuse and alienation professionals find some common ground. (Publisher Abstract)
      
  
          Additional Details
Grant Number(s)
        2014-MU-CX-0859


  
  
        
  Agencies
        NIJ-Sponsored


  
  
        
  Publication Type
        Research (Applied/Empirical)


  
  
        
  Award
        Child Custody Outcomes in Cases Involving Abuse Allegations and Parental Alienation
    
  
  
Date Published: January 1, 2020
    
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