What are the long-term effects of parental alienation on the child?

 Posted on September 28, 2022 in Divorce

Sometimes, divorce can bring out the worst in people. One of the most serious mistakes couples make during and after the divorce is using children to settle scores. Generally, this is referred to as parental alienation or parenting interference, and it hurts pretty much everyone involved.

Parental alienation can impact the child in a variety of ways. And not only that, the effects of parental alienation can linger around through to the child’s adulthood years. Here are some of the ways parental alienation can impact adult children.

Poor emotional management skills

Most adults who grow from alienated kids tend to feel they have a right to throw tantrums at anyone. As kids, they were encouraged to show disrespect and hostility towards their parent, and this sense of rage became their standard operating procedure. In adulthood, it is not uncommon for them to feel entitled to baseless anger and exhibit immaturity to have their way.

Poor relationship skills

A child who grows up perceiving their own parent as entirely bad or evil will have a difficult time trusting and seeing the best in anyone. This applies to their romantic relationships as well as professional and social relationships.

Difficulty submitting to authority figures

The alienated parent exercised authority over the child before the other parent stepped in and corrupted the relationship. As a result, the child learned to disrespect the parent and rebel against their authority. As they grow, such kids tend to carry on with these traits, with negative effects on law enforcement, supervisors and other authority figures in society.

The courts take claims of parental alienation very seriously. Find out how you can safeguard your rights and interests if the other parent is trying to alienate you from your child.