Parental Alienation Syndrome is a widely recognized phenomena that often occurs in divorce situations wherein one parent is able to exercise control over the frequency of the child's contact with the other parent, usually supported by an inequitable award of custody by the courts at the final hearing ("Standard Model", although it can occur irregardless of the timesharing plan) and exacerbated by
the Court's unwillingness to hold in contempt the parent who is denying visitation and simultaneously alienating the affected child. The syndrome has been extensively studied over the past two decades and in 2000 was subjected to a Frye hearing in the 13th Circuit wherein it was recognized as a legitimate psychological condition; the hearing was held based in part upon objection to Court recognition since the condition was not described and codified in the DSM-IV. The Court properly held that some accepted diagnoses had not been listed in the DSM-IV for decades, even for a century, and that such omission did not constitute a denial of its existence ( see article). The symptoms that one must recognize when attempting to determine if PAS exists are:
* Visitation or access blocking by one parent
* False allegations of abuse or unfit parenting against the Target Parent
* Deterioration in the relationship with the child and the Target Parent since marital separation
* Exaggerated fear reaction on the part of the child at displeasing the Alienating Parent