The loyalty/trauma bonds are created because the alienating parent consistently portrays the other parent in a negative light, using derogatory language, making false accusations, and highlighting perceived flaws or mistakes. This constant denigration aims to sabotage the connection between the targeted parent and child. It is abuse.
The alienating parent often isolates the child from the targeted parent, their extended family and support system. They may restrict access to communication or visitation, limit opportunities for bonding, and discourage or prohibit positive interactions with the targeted parent. They emotionally manipulate the child by leveraging their emotions, guilt, and fear. Not only this but they also instil a sense of obligation and loyalty by making the child believe that supporting or loving the targeted parent would hurt or betray them. It’s childish, and utterly selfish behaviour, but the child doesn’t know this.
The child is ‘parentified’, but the alienating parent also fosters an unhealthy dependency, so the child feels reliant on them for emotional support, validation, and approval. This dependency reinforces the loyalty bond and makes it difficult for the child to express positive feelings towards the rejected parent especially when the alienating parent creates a false narrative where the targeted parent is consistently portrayed as the cause of all the family problems and the source of the child’s distress.
Over time, these tactics can create a strong trauma/loyalty bond between the child and the alienating parent. The child may internalise the alienating parent’s views, blame the targeted parent for the family’s dysfunction, and believe that aligning with the alienating parent is the only way to maintain their love and approval.
Not all children will respond in the same way, even in the same family with the same family dynamics. However, the creation of loyalty bonds and the shifting of blame onto the targeted parent are common patterns observed in alienation cases.
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