Yes, children are susceptible to manipulation: Commentary on article by Clemente and Padilla-Racero

The recently published article by Clemente and Padilla-Racero made incorrect statements regarding Richard Gardner and the mental condition that he identified, parental alienation syndrome. Clemente and Padilla-Racero conducted research on children and concluded, “Gardner's ideas about parental alienation syndrome, and in particular the ease of parental manipulation of children, were not empirically verified.” When we reviewed the data from their own research, we arrived at the opposite conclusion, i.e., that over 40% of child subjects, age 6 to 12, were manipulated by adult suggestion to describe a non-event. We conclude that the data of Clemente and Padilla-Racero were consistent with Gardner's theory that a parent can influence a child to make false statements about the other parent and to develop false beliefs and ultimately false memories of non-events. That article, which features misinformation and methodological flaws, should be withdrawn from publication.