| Another
syndrome -- the divorce-related,
malicious mother syndrome -- has been
identified in cases in which mothers
not only try to alienate their children
from their fathers, but are committed
to a broadly based campaign to hurt
the father directly (Turkat,
1995). The diagnostic criteria
for this syndrome are listed in Figure
1.
Some examples of
the more extreme behavior observed
in such individuals include the following:
making one's children sleep in a car
to prove that their father has bankrupted
them; burning down the house of the
ex-husband: making false allegations
of sexual abuse; manipulating other
people to harass the ex-husband: spreading
vicious lies about the ex-husband;
trying to get the ex-husband fired
from his job; and driving an automobile
into the ex-husband's living room.
Women with this syndrome
interfere chronically with visitation.
Though they also engage in serious
attempts to alienate the child from
the father, they an not always successful.
Thus, a full parental alienation syndrome
is not required for a diagnosis of
divorce-related. malicious mother
syndrome.
In addition. these
women are skillful liars, highly manipulative,
and quite adept at recruiting others
to participate in the campaign against
the father. As is true of parental
alienation syndrome, there is an absence
of necessary research on this abnormality.
Figure 1:
Diagnostic Criteria for
Divorce-Related, Malicious
Mother Syndrome
(Adapted from
Turkat, 1995, with permission
of the publisher, Plenum
Publishing, New York.)
- A mother who unjustifiably
punishes her divorcing or
divorced husband by:
- attempting to alienate
their mutual child(ren)
from the father;
- involving others in
malicious actions against
the father;
- engaging in excessive
litigation.
- A mother who specifically
attempts to deny her child(ren):
- regular, uninterrupted
visitation with the
father;
- uninhibited telephone
access to the father;
- paternal participation
in the child(ren)'s
school life and extracurricular
activities.
- The mother's behavior
is pervasive and includes
malicious acts towards the
husband, such as:
- telling the child(ren)
lies about the father;
- telling others lies
about the father;
- acting against the
father in ways that
violate the law.
- The syndrome is not specifically
due to another mental disorder,
but another disorder may
coexist.
|
Difficulties
in the Courtroom.
Individuals with
either of these syndromes may be willing
and able to lie in court in a fully
convincing way. Sometimes, their manipulative
skills are so well developed that
they are able to influence others
to provide false testimony against
the victimized parent. They may run
circles around opposing counsel. When
accused of visitation interference,
they often have what appear to be
wonderful explanations for their behavior;
some may even be accurate. For example:
"I offered many times for him
to see his daughter but he just doesn't
cooperate; every time he comes to
pick up Billy, Billy cries and refuses
to go: he never follows the schedule,
your honor, no matter how hard I try.
..."
What typically is
left out of such testimony is the
fact that the interfering parent is
either lying or has manipulated the
child or the situation to give a false
impression that he or she is innocent
of the charges.
If the interfering
parent continues to violate successfully
the visitation regulations, over time
the victimized parent often becomes
so emotionally and financially depleted
that the case fades from the court's
purview. Unfortunately, outside of
the courtroom, the visitation interference
continues, often with increased strength. |
