An Inter-Rater Reliability Study of Parental Alienation Syndrome

Abstract

The dual purpose of this study was to first test the acceptance of the concept of parental alienation among therapists, and secondly, to assess the validity of parental alienation as a syndrome among therapists who are familiar with this phenomenon. The study measured the independent variable, symptoms of parental alienation syndrome, and the dependent variable, therapists' perception of the syndrome.The respondents analyzed five cases using Dr. Richard Gardner's differential diagnosis chart built into a questionnaire for the potential alienator and the child. For the measurements of reliability and inter-rater reliability, the researcher used Microsoft Excel and Kendall's coefficient of concordance. The findings showed a significant level of concordance among raters in all five cases except in Case 2, where there was a lower consensus on the presence of parental alienation syndrome or meeting Dr. Gardner's criteria due to the complexity of the case presentation. Similarly, findings also reflect the relatively recent discovery of this phenomenon, evidenced by some level of apathy from the general population of therapists to get involved.The completed surveys were from therapists familiar with parental alienation syndrome, which indicated their level of understanding of the phenomena and how their views differed from other therapists who were unfamiliar with PAS. The data gathered from the completed surveys was sufficiently reliable to suggest a wider study for the purpose of classification in the next edition of the DSM.Address correspondence to Carlos

Parental Alienation Critics and the Politics of Science

“…Family Court Review published Gardner's (2004) response to the reformulation of PAS by the Johnston/Kelly group. Rueda (2004) conducted the first inter-rater reliability study of PAS. The Kopetski Follow-up Study provided information on interventions and what happens to the child's relationship with both parents in the long term (Rand, Rand, & Kopetski, 2005).…”

Family Reflections: A Promising Therapeutic Program Designed to Treat Severely Alienated Children and Their Family System

“…Parental alienation is a valid concept and the diagnostic criteria for parental alienation are reliable (Baker & Darnall, 2006Rueda, 2004). In accordance with these definitions, generally accepted manifestations of parental alienation include:…”

Parental Alienation Syndrome: A critique

“…Gardner asserts a model of how the syndrome allegedly develops, but there are no empirical studies to support this, despite the decades since the alleged syndrome was proposed (Meier, 2009). To the contrary, the lone empirical study of parental alienation syndrome did little to provide evidence to support the theory (Rueda, 2004). The study was designed to examine the extent to which different observers can correctly and consistently identify parental alienation syndrome.…”