Parental kidnapping - Early Identification of Risk Factors for Parental Abduction

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

“You’ll never see your child again!”

When are these words an idle threat spoken in anger and frustration and when are they a warning that a parent intends to abduct his or her child, depriving the child and the other parent of future contact?

Profiles of Parents At Risk for Abducting Their Children

identify the characteristics of abductors and their families and examine the effec-tiveness of interventions used to prevent or respond to child abductions. Research was conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. This location was cho- sen for several reasons. First, California’s criminal statute broadly defines parental abduction (also known as criminal custo-dial interference or child stealing) to in-clude the following offenses:

Abduction by a parent with rights of custody and visitation who has no cus-tody order from the court (precustodial abduction).

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Profile 1: When There Has Been a Prior Threat of or Actual Abduction

When a parent has made credible threats to abduct a child or has a history of hiding the child, withholding visitation, or snatching the child from the other parent, there is great dis- trust between the parents and a heightened risk of further custody violation. This risk profile is usually combined with one or more of the other profiles. In these cases, the under-lying psychological and social dynamics that motivate the abduction need to be understood and addressed. When other risk factors are present, one or more of the following are gen- eral indicators of an imminent threat of flight with the child: The parent is unemployed, homeless, and without emo-tional or financial ties to the area.

The parent has divulged plans to abduct the child and has the resources or the support of extended family and/or friends and underground dissident networks needed to survive in hiding. The parent has liquidated assets, made maximum with- drawals of funds against credit cards, or borrowed money from other sources.

Profile 2: When a Parent Suspects or Believes Abuse Has Occurred and Friends and Family Members Support These Concerns

Many parents abduct their child because they believe that the other parent is abusing, molesting, or neglecting the child. These abducting parents feel that the authorities have not taken them seriously or properly investigated the allega-tions. Repeated allegations increase the hostility and dis-trust between the parents. Parents who have the fixed belief that abuse has occurred—and will continue to occur—then “rescue” the child, often with the help of supporters who con-cur with their beliefs, justify their actions, and often help with the abduction and concealment. Supporters might include family members, friends, or underground networks (usually women) that help “protective” parents (usually women) ob-tain new identities and find safe locations.

In a large number of cases, the child has been previously exposed to neglectful, endangering, or violent environ-ments (e.g., domestic violence or substance abuse). In these cases, the courts and child protective services may have failed to protect the child and the concerned parent or family member. They may have trivialized the allegations, dismissing them as invalid or the product of a contentious divorce. Often, however, the allegation of sexual abuse by a father or stepfather that motivates a mother to abduct her child is unsubstantiated. In these cases, the abduction can psychologically harm the child and the other parent, possi-bly leaving their relationship in serious need of repair.

Profile 3: When a Parent Is Paranoid Delusional

Although only a small percentage of parents fit this profile, these parents present the greatest risk of physical harm or death to the child, regardless of whether an abduction oc-curs. Parents who fit the paranoid profile hold markedly irra-tional or psychotic delusions that the other parent will defi-nitely harm them and/or the child. Believing themselves to be betrayed and exploited by their former partner, these parents urgently take what they consider to be necessary measures to protect themselves and the child.

Psychotic parents do not perceive the child as a separ-ate person. Rather, they perceive the child as part of themselves

—that is, as a victim (in which case they take unilateral measures to rescue the child)—or they perceive the child as part of the hated other parent (in which case they may precipitously abandon or even kill the child). Mari-tal separation and/or the instigation of the custody dispute generally triggers an acute phase of danger for these psy-chotic individuals. The result can be not only parental abduction, but also murder and suicide.

Profile 4: When a Parent Is Severely Sociopathic

Sociopathic parents are characterized by a long history of flagrant violations of the law and contempt for any authority—including that of the legal system.

Read the full report here: Early Identification of Risk Factors for Parental Abduction

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