Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012;40(1):127-31.

The parental alienation debate belongs in the courtroom, not in DSM-5

Timothy M Houchin  1 , John Ranseen, Phillip A K Hash, Daniel J Bartnicki
Affiliations
  • PMID: 22396350

The parental alienation debate belongs in the courtroom, not in DSM-5

Timothy M Houchin et al. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2012.

Abstract

The DSM-5 Task Force is presently considering whether to adopt parental alienation disorder (PAD) as a mental illness. Although controversy has surrounded PAD since its inception in 1985, pro-PAD groups and individuals have breathed new life into the push to establish it as a mental health diagnosis. In this analysis, we argue that it would be a serious mistake to adopt parental alienation disorder as a formal mental illness in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5).

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • PAS.
    Gottlieb LJ. Gottlieb LJ. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2012;40(3):445-6; author reply 447-8. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2012. PMID: 22960927 No abstract available.
  • Parental alienation (PA).
    Pilla JM. Pilla JM. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2012;40(3):446; author reply 447-8. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2012. PMID: 22960928 No abstract available.
  • Parental alienation syndrome (PAS).
    Stone MH. Stone MH. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2012;40(3):447; author reply 447-8. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2012. PMID: 22960929 No abstract available.

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources