Parental alienation, when a child turns away from a parent in an extreme form, can occur in both intact and divorced families and in families where the alienating parent is the primary caregiver. Parental alienation is terrible because it is a willful intent to forcible attempt the altering of an otherwise healthy relationship between a parent and child. With awareness of the problem comes education, and with education, comes the power to stop most of the abuse of young, impressionable, easily manipulated children, and to help repair many of the damaged family relationships. Although parental alienation syndrome (PAS) is a familiar term, there is still a great deal of confusion and unclarity about its nature, dimensions, and, therefore, its detection.