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The impact of parental alienating behaviours on the mental health of adults alienated in childhood
Citation
Verhaar, S and Matthewson, ML and Bentley, C, The impact of parental alienating behaviours on the mental health of adults alienated in childhood, Children (Basel), 9, (4) Article 475. ISSN 2227-9067 (2022) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2022 The Authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0).
DOI: doi:10.3390/children9040475
Abstract
This study qualitatively investigated the mental health of adults exposed to parental alienating behaviours in childhood. Research suggests that exposure to parental alienating behaviours in childhood can have a profound impact on the mental health of those children later in life, including experiencing anxiety disorders and trauma reactions. An international sample of 20 adults exposed to parental alienating behaviours in childhood participated in semi-structured interviews on their experience and its impact. Four themes were identified: mental health difficulties, including anxiety disorders and trauma reactions, emotional pain, addiction and substance use, and coping and resilience. Intergenerational transmission of parental alienation was found. Confusion in understanding their experience of alienation, the mental health sequelae, and elevated levels of suicidal ideation were found. This study demonstrated the insidious nature of parental alienation and parental alienating behaviours and provided further evidence of these behaviours as a form of emotional abuse.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Alienated children; parental alienating behaviours; complex PTSD |
| Research Division: | Psychology |
| Research Group: | Clinical and health psychology |
| Research Field: | Clinical psychology |
| Objective Division: | Health |
| Objective Group: | Clinical health |
| Objective Field: | Diagnosis of human diseases and conditions |
| UTAS Author: | Verhaar, S (Mrs Suzanne Verhaar) |
| UTAS Author: | Matthewson, ML (Dr Mandy Matthewson) |
| ID Code: | 152538 |
| Year Published: | 2022 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 1 |
| Deposited By: | Psychology |
| Deposited On: | 2022-08-21 |
| Last Modified: | 2022-09-19 |
| Downloads: | 5 View Download Statistics |
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