Can biology reveal parental manipulation?

After a breakup, it's not at all uncommon for one parent to manipulate one or more of the children into distancing themselves from the other parent. 

This is called parental alienation (PA).

This kind of manipulation is often difficult to prove. Could biological markers perhaps reveal it? 

That's what an international research team from Norway, Ukraine, and France wants to find out.

“We are presenting a proposal for how we can develop molecular tests to identify parental alienation,” says Professor Denis Kainov at NTNU.

Testing for biological markers

According to the study, chronic stress in children who are exposed to parental alienation leaves measurable biological traces.

The researchers have identified different biological markers that could be tested for. 

These markers relate to six interconnected biological processes: 

• Activation of hormones
• Neurotransmitters
• Inflammation
• Substances that are secreted by stress
• Changes in the gut flora 
• Chemical markers that regulate gene activity.

“If we achieve this, the findings can help clinicians detect harm earlier and provide the courts with objective documentation in parental disputes with a high degree of conflict,” says Kainov.

Parental alienation is a controversial hypothesis

The hypothesis of parental alienation does not have support in all research communities. The Swedish Wikipedia page even calls it a 'pseudoscientific research model.'

“Parental alienation is not recognised in many countries. But this is a new step to raise awareness of the problem. We have to start somewhere," says Professor Magnar Bjørås at NTNU. 

If this is possible, he explains that GPs could take samples in connection with divorces or other parental conflicts to protect the children.

Not ready for testing yet

The researchers emphasise that there are currently few long-term studies that are specific to parental alienation. 

They believe the next step must be to develop standardised protocols for children, test the findings in larger patient groups, and strengthen the collaboration between doctors, psychologists, and legal professionals. 

The goal is for the tests to later be used in practice.

Reference:

Kamyshnyi et al. Towards molecular diagnostics of parental alienation, Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, vol. 82, 2025. DOI: 10.1007/s00018-025-05895-3

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Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no

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