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Abstract: 

The study of child custody outcomes in cases involving parental alienation and abuse allegations (the subject of the lead article in this issue of DVR), relies solely on electronically available published opinions in child custody cases, mostly, but not only, appellate decisions. However, it analyzes the trial court’s decision in each case. The comprehensive electronic search netted a total of 4,338 cases that involved an abuse claim against one of the parents. The findings described in this brief article are based on two sub-populations: (1) the analytic dataset (distinguishing between cases with and without alienation claims) which consists of 2,351 cases involving claims of abuse by a parent against a family member, excluding mutual abuse; and (2) the “all abuse” dataset, which consists of 2,794 cases involving claims of abuse by a parent, including against non-family individuals, still excluding mutual abuse.

Keywords: Mothers’ and Children’s Claims of Abuse by Fathers in Custody Cases

Affiliations:  1: George Washington University Law School.