1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«This article examines the legitimization and institutionalization of ‘parental alienation’ discourse in Quebec. It draws upon the findings from a study conducted in two Canadian provinces in order to better understand the processes through which abused women are seen as engaging in ‘parental alienation’.» (p. 31)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«This article presents findings from a study […] which investigated ‘parental alienation’ in the context of domestic violence in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, Canada. […] The findings presented in this article draw upon a documentary analysis and on interviews conducted with key informants in Quebec. The documentary analysis focused on 31 documents, including legislation, research reports and articles, training documents, professional documents and media articles […]. All the documents were published in French in Quebec, and addressed the issue of ‘parental alienation’.» (p. 31) Moreover, «semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 13 key informants selected based on their knowledge of ‘parental alienation’ in research, policies or practices. The sample included one researcher, one ‘parental alienation’ advocate, two lawyers, two child custody experts, three child protection supervisors, one child protection trainer and three representatives of the domestic violence sector.» (p. 34)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

Results reveal that the legitimization and institutionalization of the ‘parental alienation’ discourse in Quebec seem «to be a more recent process than in other provinces and countries, which could be due to language barriers and to the limited literature on this issue available in French. Moreover, while the international literature on ‘parental alienation’ focuses on family court […], the research findings showed that this discourse has also permeated child protection services in this province. Over the last few decades, different strategies have been considered in order to limit the recourse to ‘parental alienation’ and to minimize the negative impacts on women and children […]. These strategies included exposing the flaws in Gardner’s work, resisting its inclusion in policies, or adopting policies and guidelines that prohibit or restrict its use.» (p. 41) Moreover, «the research findings showed that even though several documents and key informants noted that ‘parental alienation’ should not be used in domestic violence situations, abused women are still seen as engaging in ‘parental alienation’. This reflects a limited understanding of domestic violence, which defines it as excluding manifestations other than physical assaults and post-separation violence, and this is consistent with findings from other studies in this area […].» (p. 42)