Dr. Richard Gardner, a well known child psychiatrist with a specialty in child psychotherapy, has brought his years of experience in child custody cases to this work. Dr. Gardner first traces the history of the adversary system (our societal sanctioned means of conflict resolution) with particular emphasis on the evolution of child custody litigation. He outlines the gradual shift in child custody litigation from the tender years presumption (presumption that unless the mother was demonstrably unfit, the child is better off living with the mother) to the more sex-neutral position of best interest of the child presumption.
The evolution of the latter concept has, along with a new tendency toward granting joint custody, reduced the likelihood that custody will be automatically granted to the mother. Within the last decade, Dr. Gardner reports an ever increasing number of custody litigations which involve extreme and irrational levels of hatred and vilification of the non-custodial parent (at the time of the litigation) on the part of the child.
Labeling this the Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS), Dr. Gardner describes four factors which contribute to its presence: (1) Brainwashing of the child by the mother; (2) Subtle and unconscious parental programming; (3) Factors arising within the child; and (4) Situational factors. Dr Gardner attributes the emergence of PAS to the fact that mothers no longer are automatically granted child custody and fearing the loss of their child, engage consciously and unconsciously in activities and behaviors which engender the PAS.