Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005, Page 4
The Cult of Parenthood: A Qualitative Study of Parental
Alienation
Amy J. L. Baker, Ph.D.
Teaneck, New Jersey
Abstract
Forty adults who were alienated from a parent as a child participated in a
qualitative research study about their experience. A content analysis was
conducted on the transcripts and a comparison was undertaken to identify
similarities between alienating parents and cult leaders. Results revealed that
adults whose parents alienated them from their other parent described the
alienating parent much the way former cult members describe cult leaders.
The alienating parents were described as narcissistic and requiring excessive
devotion and loyalty, especially at the expense of the targeted parent. The
alienating parents also were found to utilize many of the same emotional
manipulation and persuasion techniques cult leaders use to heighten
dependency on them. And, finally, the alienating parents seemed to benefit
from the alienation much the way cult leaders benefit from the cult: they
have excessive control, power, and adulation. Likewise, the participants
reported many of the same negative outcomes that former cult members
experience such as low self-esteem, guilt, depression, and lack of trust in
themselves and others. These findings can provide a useful framework for
conceptualizing the experience of parental alienation and should also be
useful for therapists who provide counseling and treatment to adults who
experienced alienation as a child.
Each year approximately one million couples divorce. Many of these divorces involve
children. Research has consistently shown that children whose parents divorce suffer
emotionally and psychologically, especially when the divorce is contentious and the children
are exposed to ongoing conflict between their parents (e.g., Amato, 1994 Johnston, 1994,
Wallerstein &Blakeslee, 1996 Wallerstein &Lewis, 2004). Amato (1994), building on an
earlier meta-analysis of 92 studies, concluded that children who experienced divorce,
compared to samples of children in continuously intact two-parent families, had higher rates
of negative outcomes including conduct problems, psychological maladjustment, and poorer
self-concepts. Using a qualitative approach, Wallerstein and Lewis (2004) also found long-
term negative consequences of children‘s experience of parental divorce.
One subset of children of divorce considered most at risk for negative outcomes are those
experiencing ongoing post-divorce conflict (Garrity &Baris, 1994, Turkat, 2002). The
children in these families are at risk of being subjected to some form of parental alienation
in which one parent turns the child against the other parent through powerful emotional
manipulation techniques designed to bind the child to them at the exclusion of the other –
targeted --parent (Darnall, 1998 Gardner, 1998 Garrity &Baris, 1994 Warshak, 2001).
These alienating parents undermine the independent thinking skills of their children and
cultivate an unhealthy dependency designed to satisfy the emotional needs of the adult
rather than the developmental needs of the child (Warshak, 2001).
According to Gardner (1998) children can experience three levels of the parental alienation
syndrome: mild, moderate, and severe (although Turkat, 2002 outlined conceptual issues

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005, Page 5
with this scale). Mild cases are characterized by some parental programming against the
targeted parent but visitation is not seriously affected and the child manages to have a
reasonably healthy relationship with both parents. In cases of moderate parental alienation
there is significant parental programming against the targeted parent and considerable
struggle around visitation. The child often has difficulty during the transition but eventually
adjusts. The child who is severely alienated is adamant about his or her hatred of the
targeted parent. The child usually refuses any contact and may threaten to run away if
forced to visit. The alienating parent and the child have an unhealthy alliance based on
shared distorted ideas about the targeted parent. When this happens and the child wholly
adopts the views of the alienating parent and severs all ties with the targeted parent, the
child is living in something akin to a cult, the cult of the alienating parent.
According to West and Langone (1986) a cult1 is a hierarchical social group in which there is
a leader who requires excessive devotion, (2) has a leader who uses emotional manipulation
and persuasion techniques to heighten dependency on him or her, and (3) furthers the aims
of the leader at the expense of its members as well as others.1 Utilizing this definition
provides a useful basis for comparing cults to the characteristics of families in which
parental alienation occurs.
Of course, most families in western cultures are hierarchical social groups. Power is not
evenly distributed among the members of the family. Parents have legal, physical, moral,
and psychological control over their children. Even parents who respect their children‘s
individuality and aim to promote competence and autonomy retain some authority over
their children. In some families, however, parents exploit their inherent authority in order to
alienate the child from the other parent. The focus of the current study was to determine
whether these alienating parents resemble cult leaders that is, do they (1) require
excessive devotion, (2) use emotional manipulation techniques to heighten dependency,
and (3) garner psychological benefits at the expense of the well being of the child. This
analysis was accomplished through the current study of interviews with adult who – when
they were children – were turned against one parent by the other.
The Study
A qualitative retrospective study was conducted in the Fall of 2004. Guidelines for
conducting qualitative research developed by Berg (1998) were utilized throughout the
study. Subjects were recruited from word of mouth and from postings on the internet.
People who responded were asked to briefly describe their situation in order to ensure that
the alienation was at least in part due to the behaviors and attitudes of the other parent.
Appointments were made with people who met this criterion. At the beginning of each
appointment it was explained that the interview was voluntary, for research purposes, and
could be stopped at any time. It was also explained that although I am a psychologist I am
not a clinician and would not be able to provide counseling. Informed consent was obtained
and the audiotape was turned on. Only one person declined to participate after the study
was explained. The recruitment flyer called for people who had been turned against one
parent as a child due to the attitudes and behaviors of the other parent. In this way, only
people who were aware that the alienation was engineered by the other parent were
included in the study. This allowed for an examination of the process by which the individual
became aware that he or she had been manipulated to become alienated, which was one
important focus of the study.
The Sample
Forty-two adults participated in the interview process (2 were subsequently removed from
data analysis because of faulty tapes). An additional two people agreed to participate but
did not follow-up. Thus, data for 40 participants are presented. Participants were between
19 and 67 years of age (M=40.4, SD=11.4) 15 were male and 25 were female. For three