The Hine study, covered by media outletscalls for policy and legal reforms, including the development of school programmes to teach children how to identify so-called “parental alienating behaviours.”
The study has also been cited within official Family Justice Council guidance raising questions about the robustness of the evidence appraisal and guideline development process of the guidance, particularly given the methodological concerns with the Hine study that have since been identified.
“The Hine study states that parental alienating behaviours cause children to become allied strongly with one parent, rejecting the other without justification during a high-conflict separation or divorce,” said lead author Nic Robson, a PhD researcher from the University of Manchester. “However, the assertion is based on a controversial concept of parental alienation which has been criticised by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, the Family Justice Council in the UK, and other bodies.”
Previous research by Dr Dalgarno showed many parents accused of parental alienation are often female victims of domestic abuse who often report being subjected to biased family court proceedings.
The women in Dr Dalgarno’s study said parental alienation claims were raised against them when they attempted to safeguard their children.
“The authors of the Hine study also acknowledged a correlation between the alleged parental alienating behaviours and domestic abuse among parents, yet no investigation appears to have occurred to determine if there was a causal relationship between the two,” Robson said.
This points, Robson, Neilson and Dalgarno say, to a flawed report that identifies negative behaviours of parents reported by a group of online respondents that may or may not have been associated with behaviours the Hine study researchers were attempting to measure.
Robson added: “Unfortunately, while the authors presented some selected data, they did not provide adequate information about the scales they used, the survey questions, the complete dataset, or an in-depth analysis of their results.
“Consequently, it is difficult to work out if the omissions were intentional, indicative of selective reporting, or a reflection of the limitations of the survey.”
Dr Neilson said: “We strongly urge professionals and policymakers to base decisions on scientifically validated methods and rigorously tested evidence.
“Anyone reading the report of the Hine study should exercise caution, however especially in connection with policies and practices that shape clinical or legal work.”
Dr Dalgarno added: “The concept of parental alienation remains highly contentious due to its lack of scientific validation and empirical evidence supporting its reliability as both a psychological construct and a measurable phenomenon.
Allegations of parental alienation are frequently employed by fathers with histories of abuse as a legal strategy to dismiss or deflect serious claims of child sexual abuse, domestic violence, and coercive control.”
- Dalgarno and Robson are both core voluntary members of the SHERA Research Group, a global research collective exploring the health, social, human rights and economic impacts of domestic abuse and violence on women and children. Linda Neilson is Professor Emerita and a research associate of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research at the University of New Brunswick, Canada.
- The paper Methodologies and Moon Landings: A critical review of parental alienating behaviour research, is published in the Journal of Family Trauma, Child Custody & Child Development, DOI: 10.1080/26904586.2026.2677135 [tandfonline.com]
“The University of Manchester is a public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester City Centre on Oxford Road.”
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