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Obey the justice system or protect children? The moral dilemma posed by false parental alienation syndrome

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  • Clemente, Miguel
  • Padilla-Racero, Dolores

Abstract

This work focuses on the ethical dilemma involving whether to defend children and obey the law when a judge determines that a parent should deliver the child to the other parent although the parent is aware that the child is being abused by the other parent, which could not be determined by the justice system. A study was conducted based on the Milgram Experiment regarding obedience to authority. The participants comprised 480 adult mothers who had not experienced having had custody of their children revoked by the justice system. An ad hoc questionnaire was created to gather socio-demographic data to present a fictitious situation extracted from real legal cases in which a mother’s custody of her daughter was revoked, and the SCL-90-R scale. The results demonstrate how women who are separated from their children display the same behavior that would be displayed by any mother defending her children. Milgram’s paradigm of Obedience to Authority (OTA) would not work, and the results are more consistent with the so-called Relationship Condition. Taking children away from their mothers causes serious psychological damage and unscientific theories should not be used to address child abuse.

Suggested Citation

  • Clemente, Miguel & Padilla-Racero, Dolores, 2021. "Obey the justice system or protect children? The moral dilemma posed by false parental alienation syndrome," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:120:y:2021:i:c:s0190740920321514
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105728
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Clemente, Miguel & Padilla-Racero, Dolores, 2015. "Are children susceptible to manipulation? The best interest of children and their testimony," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 101-107.
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    Cited by:

    1. Miguel Clemente & Pablo Espinosa, 2021. "Revenge in Couple Relationships and Their Relation to the Dark Triad," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-12, July.

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    1. Miguel Clemente & Dolores Padilla-Racero & Pablo Espinosa, 2020. "The Dark Triad and the Detection of Parental Judicial Manipulators. Development of a Judicial Manipulation Scale," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-12, April.

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