Relationship between Parental Alienation and Interpersonal Relationships: A Case of Adolescents’ in Selected High Schools in Kiambu County, Kenya
Keywords:
: Adolescents, Alienation, Divorce, Separation, Target Parent, Well-being
Abstract
A conducive environment that is associated with thriving of children enhances parental behaviours towards their children. In family environments, where conflicts abound, each parent strives to absolve himself/herself of being in the wrong by providing explanations to children the meaning of the conflict, and obviously blaming the other marital partner. In this regard, post-divorce parental alienation creates an unfavourable environment which may disorganise the adolescents from adaptive living. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between parental alienation and adolescents’ interpersonal relationships among adolescents in selected high schools in Kiambu County, Kenya. PERMA wellbeing theory of flourishing guided this study. The study employed a descriptive survey design. Multistage sampling, comprising of inclusion and exclusion criteria and cluster sampling techniques, which were used to select the 240 adolescents from a population of 3776. Data was collected using Baker strategy questionnaire (BSQ) and the PERMA-Profiler. Descriptive statistics included frequencies and percentages, while Chi-square analysis was used to test for the hypotheses. The computer software SPSS version 25 aided in analysis. The findings revealed that post-divorce parental alienation affects adolescents’ inter-personal relationships. The study recommends that intervention measures be implemented in consideration of factors as follows. Firstly, divorcing parents take an interest in understanding adolescence stage and its challenges. Secondly, parents who are intending to divorce ought to seek counselling services for their adolescents from a mental health practitioner. Lastly, marriage and family therapists should spearhead campaigns for the welfare of children coming from divorced families, the context in which parental alienation takes place.
References
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Marzullo, R. (2021). Pathologies of Separation: Family Chopping, Parental Mobbing, Parental Alienation Syndrome. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.4639576
Morawska, A., & Sanders, M. R. (2017). Measuring Child, Parent, and Family Outcomes at Individual and Population Levels. In M. R. Sanders & T. G. Mazzucchelli (Eds.), The Power of Positive Parenting (pp. 395–404). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/med-psych/9780190629069.003.0036
Platt, E., & Bedwell, S. A. (2022). The long-term psychological effects of parental alienation during childhood. Forensic Update, 1(140), 37–46. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsfu.2022.1.140.37
Ryff, C. D. (2022). Positive Psychology: Looking Back and Looking Forward. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 840062. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.840062
Sagone, E., & Caroli, M. E. D. (2014). Relationships between Psychological Well-being and Resilience in Middle and Late Adolescents. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 141, 881–887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.05.154
Seligman, M. E. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Wellbeing. New York, NY. Simon and Schuster
Silva, T., & Sandstrom, P. (2018). Parenting Difficult Children and Adolescents. In L. Benedetto & M. Ingrassia (Eds.), Parenting—Empirical Advances and Intervention Resources. InTech. https://doi.org/10.5772/67319
Sirbu, A. G., Vintilă, M., Tisu, L., Stefanuț, A. M., Tudorel, O. I., Maguran, B., & Toma, R. A. (2020). Parental Alienation-Development and Validation of a Behavioral Anchor Scale. Sustainability, 13(1), 316. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010316
Stannard, S., Berrington, A., & Alwan, N. (2019). Associations between birth order with mental wellbeing and psychological distress in midlife: Findings from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). PLOS ONE, 14(9), e0222184. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222184
Thomas, V., Muls, J., De Backer, F., & Lombaerts, K. (2020). Middle school student and parent perceptions of parental involvement: Unravelling the associations with school achievement and wellbeing. Educational Studies, 46(4), 404–421.
Verhaar, S., Matthewson, M. L., & Bentley, C. (2022). The Impact of Parental Alienating Behaviours on the Mental Health of Adults Alienated in Childhood. Children, 9(4), 475. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9040475
Verrocchio, M. C., Baker, A. J. L., & Marchetti, D. (2018). Adult report of childhood exposure to parental alienation at different developmental time periods: Exposure to parental alienation. Journal of Family Therapy, 40(4), 602–618. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6427.12192
Warshak, R. A. (2020). When evaluators get it wrong: False positive IDs and parental alienation. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 26(1), 54–68. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000216
Aloia, L. S., & Strutzenberg, C. (2019). Parent–Child communication apprehension: The role of parental alienation and self-esteem. Communication Reports, 32(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/08934215.2018.1514641
American Psychiatric Association (Ed.). (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5-TR (Fifth edition, text revision). American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Baig, T., Ganesan, G. S., Ibrahim, H., Yousuf, W., & Mahfoud, Z. R. (2021). The association of parental involvement with adolescents’ well-being in Oman: Evidence from the 2015 Global School Health Survey. BMC Psychology, 9(1), 175. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00677-5
Baker, A. J. L. (2020). Parental alienation and empirical research. In D. Lorandos & W. Bernet (Eds.), Parental alienation – Science and law (pp. 207–253). Charles C Thomas
Bosch-Brits, E., Wessels, C., & Roux, A. (2018). FATHERS’ EXPERIENCE AND PERCEPTIONS OF PARENT ALIENATION IN HIGH-CONFLICT DIVORCE. Social Work, 54(1). https://doi.org/10.15270/54-1-617
Brian. (2020, October 14). The Traumatic Effects of Parental Alienation on a Child. https://www.fortbenddivorce.com/the-traumatic-effects-of-parental-alienation-on-a-child/
C. Silva, T. (2022). Parental Alienation: In the Child’s Worst Interest. In S. Ali Samadi (Ed.), Parenting—Challenges of Child Rearing in a Changing Society. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101231
C. Silva, T. (2022). Parental Alienation: In the Child’s Worst Interest. In S. Ali Samadi (Ed.), Parenting—Challenges of Child Rearing in a Changing Society. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101231
Davids, E. L., Roman, N. V., & Leach, L. (2017). The link between parenting approaches and health behavior: A systematic review. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 27(6), 589–608. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2017.1311816
Garriga, A., & Pennoni, F. (2022). The Causal Effects of Parental Divorce and Parental Temporary Separation on Children’s Cognitive Abilities and Psychological Well-being According to Parental Relationship Quality. Social Indicators Research, 161(2–3), 963–987. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-020-02428-2
Gasser-Haas, O., Sticca, F., & Wustmann Seiler, C. (2021). The longitudinal role of early family risks and early social-emotional problems for friendship quality in preadolescence—A regression model. PLOS ONE, 16(7), e0253888. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253888
Gunnar, M. R. (2017). Social buffering of stress in development: A career perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(3), 355–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691616680612
Harman, J. J., Bernet, W., & Harman, J. (2019). Parental Alienation: The Blossoming of a Field of Study. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 28(2), 212–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721419827271
Harman, J. J., Kruk, E., & Hines, D. A. (2018). Parental alienating behaviors: An unacknowledged form of family violence. Psychological Bulletin, 144(12), 1275–1299. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000175
Karaman, O., & Tarim, B. (2018). Investigation of the Correlation between Belonging Needs of Students Attending University and Well-being. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 6(4), 781–788. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2018.060422
Kiplagat, S. (2020, February 28). How fast Kenyans are divorcing [Business]. Retrieved April 27, 2021, from Business Daily website: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/lifestyle/society/how-fast-kenyans-are-divorcing-2282046
Kun, Á., Balogh, P., & Krasz, K. G. (2016). Development of the Work-Related Well-Being Questionnaire Based on Seligman’s PERMA Model. Periodica Polytechnica Social and Management Sciences, 25(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.3311/PPso.9326
Martos Martínez, Á., Molero Jurado, M. del M., Pérez-Fuentes, M. del C., Simón Márquez, M. del M., Barragán Martín, A. B., & Gázquez Linares, J. J. (2021). The Complex Nature of School Violence: Attitudes Toward Aggression, Empathy and Involvement Profiles in Violence. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, Volume 14, 575–586. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S313831
Marzullo, R. (2021). Pathologies of Separation: Family Chopping, Parental Mobbing, Parental Alienation Syndrome. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.4639576
Morawska, A., & Sanders, M. R. (2017). Measuring Child, Parent, and Family Outcomes at Individual and Population Levels. In M. R. Sanders & T. G. Mazzucchelli (Eds.), The Power of Positive Parenting (pp. 395–404). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/med-psych/9780190629069.003.0036
Platt, E., & Bedwell, S. A. (2022). The long-term psychological effects of parental alienation during childhood. Forensic Update, 1(140), 37–46. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsfu.2022.1.140.37
Ryff, C. D. (2022). Positive Psychology: Looking Back and Looking Forward. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 840062. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.840062
Sagone, E., & Caroli, M. E. D. (2014). Relationships between Psychological Well-being and Resilience in Middle and Late Adolescents. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 141, 881–887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.05.154
Seligman, M. E. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Wellbeing. New York, NY. Simon and Schuster
Silva, T., & Sandstrom, P. (2018). Parenting Difficult Children and Adolescents. In L. Benedetto & M. Ingrassia (Eds.), Parenting—Empirical Advances and Intervention Resources. InTech. https://doi.org/10.5772/67319
Sirbu, A. G., Vintilă, M., Tisu, L., Stefanuț, A. M., Tudorel, O. I., Maguran, B., & Toma, R. A. (2020). Parental Alienation-Development and Validation of a Behavioral Anchor Scale. Sustainability, 13(1), 316. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010316
Stannard, S., Berrington, A., & Alwan, N. (2019). Associations between birth order with mental wellbeing and psychological distress in midlife: Findings from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). PLOS ONE, 14(9), e0222184. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222184
Thomas, V., Muls, J., De Backer, F., & Lombaerts, K. (2020). Middle school student and parent perceptions of parental involvement: Unravelling the associations with school achievement and wellbeing. Educational Studies, 46(4), 404–421.
Verhaar, S., Matthewson, M. L., & Bentley, C. (2022). The Impact of Parental Alienating Behaviours on the Mental Health of Adults Alienated in Childhood. Children, 9(4), 475. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9040475
Verrocchio, M. C., Baker, A. J. L., & Marchetti, D. (2018). Adult report of childhood exposure to parental alienation at different developmental time periods: Exposure to parental alienation. Journal of Family Therapy, 40(4), 602–618. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6427.12192
Warshak, R. A. (2020). When evaluators get it wrong: False positive IDs and parental alienation. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 26(1), 54–68. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000216
Published
2023-04-07
How to Cite
Wanjao, J., Njoroge, W., & Kamau, E. (2023, April 7). Relationship between Parental Alienation and Interpersonal Relationships: A Case of Adolescents’ in Selected High Schools in Kiambu County, Kenya. African Journal of Education,Science and Technology, 7(3), Pg 266-274. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2022/ajest.v7i3.845
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