No, genuine Parental Alienation Syndrome is not common, because the behavior must
be extreme and meet all the criteria before the term "syndrome" can be applied. Most
Parental Alienation doesn't meet these conditions. Parental Alienation can still occur,
however, without it being at the level of a full-fledged 'syndrome'. The effects are
still damaging to the child, perhaps only to a lesser degree .
Some degree of
low-level alienation by parents isn't uncommon in a large number of
divorce and custody cases. In some
respects, minor instances of alienation are understandable (but not condonable)
since divorce is usually a very stressful and antagonistic process, and a contested
custody issue can be even more adversarial. During times like this, the animosity
can often reach very high levels, causing parents to do or say things they wouldn't
ordinarily do. There's no excuse for alienating behavior, but it's easy to see how
some alienation can occur without a necessarily premeditated malicious intent.
