Article Critique Assignment
Adriana Sandoval
Department of Psychology, Liberty University
PSYC 525 Developmental Psychology
Dr. Kim
February 23, 2025
Abstract
There are studies on what effects a child, and the studies on Developmental processes
that result in strained parent-child relationships, such those that happen following a divorce,
have been explained by theory and study. Scholars, however, disagree over the literature's
scientific standing about children who develop harmful alliances with one parent against the
other, a phenomenon known as parental alienation. By looking into previously published
research the information gained can be used to figure out whether the research on PA is in its
beginning stages or something that should be taken seriously, essentially where does parental
alienation
stand in the field of developmental psychology.
Article Critique
The effects of how a child is raised are long-term. There are factors that affect the child
and how the child interacts, bonds, and sees there are not. While this is important to study as
the child is developing, when there is a separation of that are not child bond, parental
alienation occurs. The article “Developmental Psychology and the Scientific Status of Parental
Alienation
(PA)” took a close look on how children develop and what happens when they reject one
parent and align with another as a result of interparental conflict through a scientific study of
previously
written and researched information (Harman, J. J., et.al., 2022).
The current study captured the most diverse spectrum of PA knowledge, which
enhances earlier reviews. In the process of the objectives of this review, the variety of
approaches
(measures, samples, and data collection techniques) have been utilized to research PA. Four
data sources were used to decide the study sample for this evaluation. The first three
resources used were electronic databases from PsycINFO, Medline, and Westlaw. The fourth
resource used was
Eskind Biomedical Library of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Parental Alienation
Study Group. To find publications that were missed by the electronic database searches, we
turned to this source.
Examining whether the trajectory of empirical data regarding PA supports the idea that
the field of study has entered a "blossoming" stage of development or whether the body of
work in this area is still substantially underdeveloped was one of the goals of this review
(Harman
2022). The study instruments employed, the categories of participants sampled, and the
assessment methods used to estimate PA varied throughout the 16 distinct topical areas on
which the PA studies have been conducted. Additionally, the advantages of one method,
sample source, or measurement tool have outweighed the disadvantages of another. Therefore,
PA is a methodologically sound topic of study that significantly advances our knowledge of the
effects
of this particular type of parental conflict on children.
Developmental psychology advances our knowledge of the causes and development of
parent-child relationships, the factors influencing these connections, and the influence of these
connections. There were no gender differences in the likelihood of an alienating parent across
ten research studies, four of which employed population-based sampling techniques. The other
studies that showed gender differences either sampled from a select population where there
may be explanations for differences other than parent gender (e.g., income), used smaller
sample sizes or reported some proportional differences, such as mostly mothers (Harman
2022).
According to the findings, scientific study on PA has been generative, which means that
as time has gone on, more studies have been published on the subject. In fact, peer-reviewed
papers, theses, dissertations, and one book chapter published after 2016 account for around
40% of what is known about PA as of the end of 2020. Information about the studies is shown
in Table 3 looked at whether the sample plan, measurement techniques, and procedures used
in the various PA research varied. There were a proportionate and balanced number of studies
utilizing various research instruments, evaluation methodologies, and sample sources
throughout. This proportionality showed that our understanding of PA as a concept has been
informed by numerous studies within research tools, assessment approaches, and sample
sources, each
offsetting the weaknesses of the other. (Harman 2022)
Several research on PA that the authors were previously aware of were not found by
the search terms used in the studies. Some studies may not have been found using the narrow
search keywords because they were not published in a publication that the search engines
utilized index.
While search procedure and inclusion/exclusion criteria were closely followed, which meant
removing such well-known papers from our review in order to avoid biases in adding just
those
research that the authors are aware of. Additionally, the review did not contain
unpublished research or expert presentations of empirical evidence that has not been
published.
To find out if there are any publication biases favoring research with statistically significant
results, future evaluations could employ more search terms and request unpublished articles
from academics in the field. There was also an exclusion of what wording and elements such as
online recruitment that could have improved our comprehension of the study. The cross-
sectional approach has been used in most PA investigations, which is suitable for the kinds of
research questions posed. Longitudinal research designs might be beneficial for future studies
addressing
the origin of the issue and the longer-term effects of parental alienation.
Given the growing amount of research on PA and the large body of research that
currently exists from related fields that explains various PA processes, academics have
expressed concern about why psychology has failed to recognize the issue widely and why
families facing this type of abuse have not had better legal protections and remedies (Harman
2022). Based on far less study than what was examined here, laws have been developed to
shield people from
other forms of abuse.
Importance of further various research expanding our knowledge of the link between
interparental conflict and the disintegration of parent-child bonds in households where conflict
has varying effects on children's interactions with and conduct toward each parent.
One research conundrum in these situations is that when behavior measures toward each
parent are combined, the stark differences between aligned and triangulated children are
hidden, and we lose important data that could help us better understand how to support kids
engaged in this type of family conflict. Scholars have expressed worry about why psychology
has failed to gain widespread notice of the issue given the body of study on PA and the large
body of research
from adjacent domains that explains various PA processes.
Reference:
Harman, J. J., Warshak, R. A., Lorandos, D., Florian, M. J., Harman, J. J., Warshak, R. A., & Florian,
M. J. (2022). Developmental psychology and the scientific status of parental alienation.
Developmental Psychology., 58(10), 1887–1911. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001404
