Adults who experienced parental alienation as children do not get as much focus, attention or study as their younger counterparts. It has only been in recent years that an uptick in these studies has occurred, and the results do not speak well for these victims.
When posing the question of whether adult children still deal with the effects of parental alienation, the answer is unfortunately yes.
Parental alienation abuse
According to the Psychiatric Times, parental alienation can have steep consequences for adult children who suffered through it in their youth. Many courts in the current day classify parental alienation as a form of child psychological abuse. It goes to follow then that victims of parental alienation will often face similar issues to victims of other forms of abuse.
Lifelong trust issues and other elevated risks
Specifically, many alienating parents utilize abusive tactics to get their way and “win” their child over, such as manipulation and gaslighting. The use of these tactics often fosters a sense of mistrust in children, which can grow to become trust issues in adult life. Many adult survivors of parental alienation claim to struggle making and keeping bonds with peers because of these trust issues, along with difficulties with relationships, whether romantic or platonic.
On top of that, these victims often suffer from a higher rate of depression, anxiety and trauma or stressor-related disorders. They struggle with self-destructive behaviors and various addictions as well, and many reports suffering from what they describe as a lower quality of life which they often believe they can trace back to the parental alienation they experienced in their youth.