Selection of Key Peer-Reviewed Articles

Richard A. Warshak, with the endorsement of 110 researchers and practitioners listed in the Appendix. Social Science and Parenting Plans for Young Children: A Consensus Report. 20 Psychology, Public Policy, and Law 46–67 (2014).

Published by the American Psychological Association, this article consistently ranks among the top downloaded articles from the journal’s website. It has been translated in many languages and been introduced in legislations throughout the world, making it perhaps the most influential paper of my career. This article reviews the relevant developmental and attachment literature and concludes, with agreement by a panel of prominent international authorities, that in normal circumstances shared residential arrangements—including overnights—are appropriate for children under four whose parents live apart. The article is included in Volume 2 of my Collected Papers (forthcoming).

Richard A. Warshak. Parenting by the Clock: The Best Interests of the Child Standard, Judicial Discretion, and The American Law Institute’s “Approximation Rule.” 41(1) University of Baltimore Law Review 83–163 (2011).

This is among my most scholarly works. It critiques the American Law Institute’s proposed “approximation rule,” a default presumption that post-divorce parenting time should mirror the approximate proportion of time each parent spent during the marriage providing care for the children. I believe the rule rests on unvalidated assumptions and would represent a regressive shift in family law. The American Law Institute is an elite group of legal scholars whose work is known to shape judicial practice and legislation. Whether critiques by me and by others had an impact, it is noteworthy that unlike the Institute’s other reformulations of law, the approximation rule was not adopted by state legislatures. The article is included in Volume 2 of my Collected Papers (forthcoming).

Richard A. Warshak. Payoffs and Pitfalls of Listening to Children. 52 Fam. Rel. 373 (2003).

This paper addresses one of the most contentious issues in child custody: the role of the child’s voice in decisions and in litigation. It proposes a framework that respects children’s perspectives while protecting them from the pressures and risks inherent in high-conflict disputes. Its analysis later informed a California Supreme Court Amici Curiae Brief. The article is included in Volume 1 of my Collected Papers (forthcoming).

Jennifer J. Harman, Richard A. Warshak, Demosthenes Lorandos, & Matthew J. Florian. Developmental Psychology and the Scientific Status of Parental Alienation. 58(10) Dev. Psychol. 1887 (2022).

Published by the American Psychological Association in a premier peer-review journal, this article is the most comprehensive review of scientific data on parental alienation. Dr. Warshak and his coauthors reviewed 213 studies published in 10 languages through December 2020. The studies provide a wide range of reliable information for judges, lawyers, legislators, therapists, and parents, including the prevalence of parental alienation, the strategies parents use to undermine their child’s relationship with the other parent, how to identify a child who rejects a good parent, and about how courts can help families suffering this problem.

The takeaway message? Parental alienation is real and supported by a legitimate and trustworthy foundation of scientific study. Critics who claim otherwise are wrong and either through ignorance or design are ignoring scientific advances in the field and spreading misinformation.

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Richard A. Warshak. Bringing Sense to Parental Alienation: A Look at the Disputes and the Evidence. 37 Fam L. Q. 273 (2003).

This article, published in a prestigious law journal, is a thorough examination of different ideas about pathological alienation and its status in custody litigation. It examines a continuum of opinions about parental alienation with reference to relevant scientific literature and is an attempt to introduce rationality in an area that suffers from polemics and politics.

Dr. Warshak describes the intellectual and scientific roots in developmental and cognitive psychology of a conceptualization that emphasizes the influence of the favored parent, particularly research on children’s suggestibility. A conceptualization that emphasizes the role of multiple interrelated factors enjoys support in family systems theory that regards children’s problematic behavior as an expression of family-wide dysfunction.

The article reviews available studies and concludes that the current status of research supports the prevailing opinion among mental health professionals that the court’s authority is a key element in successful remedies of severe alienation. The article describes the possible advantages of the term “pathological alienation” and offers other suggestions for circumventing unproductive disputes and focusing on the welfare of families.

The article is useful when proposing or opposing evidence dealing with parental alienation. It is included in Volume 1 of my Collected Papers (forthcoming).

Richard A. Warshak. Night Shifts: Revisiting Blanket Restrictions on Children’s Overnights with Separated Parents. 59 J. Div. & Remarriage 282 (2018).

A comprehensive overview of the scientific status of restrictions on a young child’s overnights with a parent (usually the father). The article shows that contemporary proposals of blanket restrictions are contradictory and rest on faulty interpretations of a narrow bandwidth of scholarship. No coherent theory or research confirms speculations that fathers’ overnight care poses greater risks to their young children than daytime care, or that overnights are contraindicated if opposed by the mother.

The article demonstrates that theory, research, and practical considerations support the benefits of overnights. It violates logic and common sense to welcome father–child contact around bedtime and morning rituals when parents live together, but eschew overnight contact when parents separate. Includes citations to141 references. The article is included in Volume 2 of my Collected Papers (forthcoming).

Brief of Richard A. Warshak et al. as Amici Curiae on behalf of LaMusga Children, In re Marriage of LaMusga, 88 P.3d 81 (Cal. 2004) (No. SI07355).

This brief, written by Dr. Warshak, was endorsed and signed by an additional 27 experts in the field of divorce and child custody. It influenced two landmark rulings emphasizing the complexity of relocation disputes. Available here [link to pdf]. It is also included in Volume 2 of my Collected Papers (forthcoming).

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Richard A. Warshak. Ten Parental Alienation Fallacies that Compromise Decisions in Court and in Therapy. 46(4) Prof’l Psychol.: Research & Practice 235 (2015).

This peer-reviewed paper, published by the American Psychological Association, exposes the faulty reasoning behind ten widespread fallacies that compromise sound decision-making in courtrooms and therapy offices. The article is included in Volume 1 of my Collected Papers (forthcoming).