Framing Contests in Child Custody Disputes: Parental Alienation Syndrome, Child Abuse, Gender, and Fathers' Rights

Adams confronts the battle being waged around the use of parental alienation syndrome (PAS) in custody disputes from a sociological perspective. Adams argues that PAS, promoted by father's rights groups and embodying stereotypical views of the vindictive scorned woman, has become an accepted frame in cases involving competing claims of child sexual abuse as a way of explaining why some children exhibit antipathy toward the noncustodial parent.