Análise das propriedades psicométricas da escala de alienação parental – EAP

Abstract

The phenomenon of parental alienation (PA) happens in cases of litigation involving custody disputes. Law 12.318/2010, called the Parental Alienation Law, recently modified by Law 14.340/2022, aims to protect children and adolescents, but has recently been used inappropriately in judicial contexts. Despite its timeliness and importance, studies on the subject are still scarce. The lack of knowledge and misinformation about the phenomenon make it difficult to correctly identify its occurrence, making it impossible for judges to make the right decisions. A correct assessment, carried out in a comprehensive, ethical, and technical manner by the multidisciplinary team, can offer better support for decision-making, reducing the length of court proceedings, and helping to protect the children and adolescents involved in the procedural dispute. In Brazil, there are no instruments that make it possible to identify the practice of parental alienation, duly validated for use in the forensic context. The aim of this study is to analyze the psychometric properties of a Parental Alienation Scale - EAP, developed by Professor Dr. Paula Inez da Cunha Gomide. The instrument, previously validated, underwent reformulations in some items, requiring a new collection to proceed with the new psychometric validation. The EAP is a hetero-report instrument, which is intended to evaluate the triad involved in the phenomenon of the PA, that is, it proposes to evaluate the behavior of the alienating parent, the target parent and the child(ren) involved in the litigation. The present work consists of two articles, with the general objective of presenting the analysis of the psychometric properties of the Parental Alienation Scale. The first study, entitled "Integrative Review of Instruments for Measuring Parental Alienation” (submitted article), presents the results of an integrative literature review of the measurement instruments that propose to evaluate the phenomenon of Parental Alienation, existing in the national and international context.. The second article, entitled "Psychometric Properties of the Parental Alienation Scale - PAS”, presents the results of the psychometric analysis of the EAP. Data were collected from expert assessments carried out by 430 participants from families in litigation (169 children, 127 mothers, 124 fathers and 10 other relatives). EAP analysis showed that the instrument has adequate psychometric standards, with evidence of significant content validity, internal structure validity and discriminant criterion validity, and adequate internal consistency indices. The instrument showed evidence of having a value of differentiation or discrimination, that is, it can help with discrimination, between families where PA is practiced and families where it is not, fulfilling the objective for which it was created. This instrument can be widely used in the judicial sphere, increasing the accuracy of the labor of professionals who work in litigious custody disputes. It is also possible to consider its use in the clinical context, since the instrument can help identify cases in which acts of parental alienation are practiced, making it possible to promote more effective interventions.