Parental Alienation Syndrome

One possible cause for Parental Alienating behavior was related by a group of left-behind fathers in Tokyo.  After the war, the only way to rebuild the country was for the men to work intense schedules and the women to take are of everything else in a family's life.  Fathers worked insane hours and never spent time at home. The mother was totally in charge, and took charge of the weekly paycheck. The father, working weekends and late nights often became nothing more than just that - a paycheck, and in fact became a nuisance to have around. This clear division of labor was an important reason behind Japan's rapid post World War 2 growth. But as a result, the mother often developed an un-naturally close relationship with the children because she was the only one around.  The father was often not much of one in the traditional sense.  The laws enacted by this time backed up these responsibilities by causing a nearly equal split of custody between men and women to move to an 80% custodial rate for women.

Fast forward through a generation or two, and you how have new mothers trying to recreate that same feeling with their children, but with fewer fathers working the same intense hours. Remember, its only been 60 years since the end of WW2 and perhaps 25 or so since Japan has really begun to be affluent enough for these behaviors to start to change.  Or overlay this feeling onto an international relationship where there is no such shared history.  This is the situation in Japan right now and may be uniquely Japanese cause of Parental Alienating behaviors in Japan.  Certainly others exist, as there are documented cases of fathers abducting their children also.  In fact, Prime Minister Koizumi is a well-known example of a father alienating two children against their mother after a divorce.

PAS is not well known in Japan.  In fact, several internet searches and queries to Japanese psychologists and psychiatrists in Japan have turned up nothing.  So the partial translations on this page may be some of the only Japanese information available.  Half of this was gleaned from discussions at The Father's Website, who are researching this and translating more information.  The other half is based on a translation submitted as a brief to a Family Court in Japan.  Possibly the first.

Recently, another Japanese father has begun doing a lot of Japanese translation of PAS related literature. His translations are listed in the following table of Essays.  But he has much more on his site.  Be sure to visit it.

It is vitally important that PAS be included into the next version of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.  This will help it to be recognized by courts worldwide.  See our page on Help Get PAS into DSM-V

Essays

(*S) means this is a summary or collection of excerpts, not a translation of the entire document.

(*NC) means cached copy not available.  Please contact (web maste r) [at] crnjapan.com if the source becomes unavailable.

NOTE: If possible, you should always examine the source of the article.  The local cached copy is only here in case the original disappears.

• Information on court cases acknowledging PAS.
• Parental Alienation: Syndrome or Symptom.  Document by a lawyer including some case law in the US.

Resources

• Website of a father who has translated a lot of information on PAS into Japanese.
• Parental Alienation Awareness Day - April 25th, 2006.  Website of a group whose goal is to educate the general public, the schools, police, counselors, religious leaders, and more, about the growing problem of Parental Alienation and Hostile Aggressive Parenting.  They have begun a Parental Alienation and Hostile Aggressive Parenting Awareness Day on April 25 each year.
• Parental Alienation Syndrome page.   Contains many references to papers, names of lawyers, and other relevant links.
• A group on yahoogroups for discussion.  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/parentalalienationsyndrome/
• Proceedings of an Oct 2002 conference on PAS available to order.
• English and French information on PAS

Bibliography of Other References

• Ackerman, M.J. (2000). Does Parental Alienation Syndrome Really Exist? Wiley Family Law Update, 145-165.
• Arbuthnot, J., Kramer, K., & Gordon, D. (1997). Patterns of Relitigation Following Divorce Education. Family and Conciliation Courts Review, 35(3), 269-279.
• Cartwright, G.F. (1993, Fall). Expanding the Parameters of Parental Alienation Syndrome. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 21, 3.
• Dallam, S. (1998, March/April). The Evidence for Parental Alienation Syndrome: An Examination of Gardner’s Theories and Opinions. Treating Abuse Today, 25-34.
• Dunne, J., & Hedrick, M. (1994). The Parental Alienation Syndrome: An Analysis of Sixteen Selected Cases. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 21, (3/4).
• Garber, B.D. (1996). Alternatives to Parental Alienation: Acknowledging the Broader Scope of Children’s Emotional Difficulties During Parental Separation and Divorce. New Hampshire Bar Journal, 51-54.
• Gardner, R.A. (1987). Creative Therapies. Cresskill, New Jersey.
• Gardner, R.A. (1987). The Parental Alienation Syndrome: The Differentiation Between Fabrication and Genuine Child Sexual Abuse. Cresskill, New Jersey.
• Johnson, J.R. (1994). High Conflict Divorce. Future of Children, 165-174.
• Johnson, J.R. (1989). Ongoing Post-Divorce Conflict: Effects of Joint Custody and Frequent Access. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 576.
• Johnston, J.R., Walters, M.G., & Friedlander, S. (2001). Therapeutic Work With Alienated Children and Their Families. Family Court Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 39(3), 316-333.
• Kelly, J.B., & Johnston, J.R. (2001). The Alienated Child: A Reformulation of Parental Alienation Syndrome. Family Court Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 39(3), 249-266.
• Lampel, A.K. (1986, July). Post-Divorce Therapy with Highly Conflicted Families. The Independent Practitioner, 6(3).
• Lee, S.M. & Olesen, N.W. (2001). Assessing for Alienation in Child Custody and Access Evaluations. Family Court Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 39(3), 282-298.
• Poliacoff, J.H. Parental Alienation Syndrome: Testing Gardner’s Theory in the Family Courts. Commentator, 19-33.
• Rand, D.C. (1997). The Spectrum of Parental Alienation Syndrome (Part I). American Journal of Forensic Psychology, 15(3).
• Ricketson, M.E. (1991, January). Custody Cases and the Theory of Parental Alienation Syndrome. Family Law Newsletter. Published by the Colorado Bar Association.
• Sullivan, M.J. & Kelly, J.B. (2001). Legal and Psychological Management of Cases With an Alienated Child. Family Court Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 39(3), 299-315.
• Waldren, K.H., & Joanis, D.E. (1996). Understanding and Collaboratively Treating Parental Alienation Syndrome. American Journal of Family Law, 121-133.
• Walsh, M.R., & Bone, M.J. (1997, June). Parental Alienation Syndrome: An Age-Old Custody Problem. The Florida Bar Journal, 93-96.
• Whiteside, M.F. (1998). The Parental Alliance Following Divorce: An Overview. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, (24)1, 3-24.
• Williams, Justice R.J. (2001). Should Judges Close the Gate on PAS and PA? Family Court Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 39(3), 267-281.
• Wood, C. Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, 27, 1367.
• Wood, C.L. (1994). The Parental Alienation Syndrome: A Dangerous Aura of Reliability, 27 Loy. L.A.L. Rev. 1367. The Custody Newsletter, Issue 21, 7-8.
• Zirogiannis, L. (2001). Evidentiary Issues with Parental Alienation Syndrome. Family Court Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 39(3), 334-343.