Dale Clarkson’s research while affiliated with Counties Manukau District Health Board and other places

There is considerable confusion and debate about the best way to describe those cases where a child refuses to have further contact with one parent following parental separation. There are advocates for a syndromal approach and advocates for a continuum approach. Moreover, there is often confusion between descriptions and explanations in the relevant literature. Such confusion has caused problems for the courts when evaluating expert evidence. This article reviews the available descriptions and explanatory formulations that have been proposed. It does so in an international context, focusing on the relationship between legal and theoretical issues rather than on how this topic is dealt with within specific legal jurisdictions.

Children who reject one parent after parental separation provide a major challenge for the family court in New Zealand, as in other countries. There are controversies about the causes and the management of these problems. This article reviews the available literature on the underlying causes of the problem, which we have called post-separation parental rejection, and discusses ways in which the legal systems in New Zealand and elsewhere can respond in order to maximise the chance of the child maintaining a relationship with both parents through the process of litigation, a process which can be prolonged and difficult in the most severe cases. Suggestions are given about ways of minimising delay, enforcing contact and even changing custody where necessary.