Eeny Meeny Miney Mo Foundation

Research

Parental Alienating Behaviours Experienced by Alienated Grandparents

Olivia Bounds & Mandy Matthewson (2022)

Journal of Family Issues

This study explored parental alienating behaviours experienced by grandparents

with limited or no contact with their grandchildren.

The key finding in study 1 is grandparents experience the same tactics as targeted parents. They experience Parental Alienating Behaviours (PABs) that are an extension of the ones their children and grandchildren experience.

In study 2 (not yet published) the impact is devastating because some grandparents may never see their grandchildren again before they die. Then the grandchildren have to live with that loss and guilt for the rest of their lifetime. Some grandparents sacrifice their retirement savings to help their children go to court. They experience the double grief of losing their grandchildren and losing their own children as they knew them. They have double the worry - worry for their grandchildren and their own children’s future.

Link to Article

“I feel erased:” A qualitative analysis of grandparent experiences of parental alienation

Hila Avieli & Inna Levy (2022)

Family Relations | Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science

This study employs the life course perspective to explore the lived experience of grandparents who have no contact with their grandchildren due to parental alienation (PA).

Article [Free Access]

Compass Grandparent Alienation Webinar

A comprehensive conversation about Grandparent Alienation with a panel of experts who work with families in crisis, including elder law expert Associate Professor Susan Field, Antonios Maglis, Community Engagement and Capacity Building Officer at PRONIA who works with older people from non-English speaking backgrounds, and Gabrielle Passlow from Relationships Australia, who specialises in conflict resolution/mediation and in family dispute resolution and community sector management.

"The Alienation of Grandparents After Parental Separation" Dr. Edward Kruk

Strategies for Prevention and Intervention in the Preservation of Grandparent-Grandchild Relationships (Families Divided TV)

The alienation of grandparents from the lives of their grandchildren after parental separation has been largely overlooked in social science research, despite the fact that the importance of the grandparent-grandchild attachment bond is the subject of considerable research. My presentation will report the results of an exploratory study of grandparent alienation, from the perspective of grandparents themselves. There are four primary circumstances associated with grandparent alienation: parental separation, conflict with both parents, death of an adult child, and step-parent adoption following remarriage. In particular, paternal grandparents are at high risk for losing contact with grandchildren when the child-in-law is the custodial mother. Disrupted grandparent-grandchild relationships, which some grandparents describe as a “primal wound,” have profoundly negative consequences for grandparents and grandchildren alike, and this has important implications for legal policy and therapeutic practice.

Alienated Grandparents Alienation up and down the family tree.

Psychology Today

By Amy J.L. Baker PhD

Article

How to Cope With Losing Contact With Grandchildren

Verywell Family

By LaKeisha Fleming

Article

Grandparent Alienation: Why it happens and what you can do

Compass Podcast Series

A comprehensive conversation about Grandparent Alienation with a panel of experts who work with families in crisis, including elder law expert at Charles Sturt University, Associate Professor Susan Field, Antonios Maglis, Community Engagement and Capacity Building Officer at PRONIA who works with older people from non-English speaking backgrounds, and Gabrielle Passlow from Relationships Australia, who specialises in conflict resolution/mediation and in family dispute resolution and community sector management.

Podcast

Seniors Rights Victoria

Grandparenting Help Sheet

This help sheet for grandparents will provide useful information on where to obtain support and advice on the issues that a grandparent might face.

Intergenerational relationships can have the capacity to provide a direct positive impact on a young people’s health and well-being, from childhood through to adulthood. However, there are times when grandparents may face challenges in their role within the family.

Find out more

Grandparent Alienation