A Team of Doctors and Researchers Launch Study on Child Alignment; Grant Funding Provided by Steel Partners Foundation

ASPEN, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Steel Partners Foundation will grant a $50,000 research award to a team of distinguished expert professionals in the field of psychology and medicine that will enable them to conduct research on a family dynamic known as child alignment, a situation in which a child has aligned with one parent and is either resisting contact with, or has rejected, the other parent. While in some cases a child may have a reasonable reason for resisting contact with a parent, in other cases there is no reasonable or legitimate reason, in which it may reflect indoctrination or manipulation by one parent to induce the child to reject the other. Commonly known as parental alienation, such indoctrination or manipulation is a form of psychological and emotional abuse. As with other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), alienation is a major risk factor for severe psychological, emotional, and physical harm in adult life and, without prompt and proper intervention, the damage can be permanent. Unfortunately, even for mental health professionals, it is sometimes difficult or challenging to determine the reasons for a child’s rejection of a parent. The purpose of the study would be to identify signs and symptoms in a child that might help professionals to distinguish between children who have rejected a parent for a legitimate reason from those who have not.