Story Created: Aug 21, 2009 at 4:21 PM MDT
Story Updated: Aug 21, 2009 at 4:43 PM MDT
"I need to be ready, so I've done some things," Alcalde said. "I've lined up a psychologist."
Experts say that's a wise move because the psychological toll on a child from parental abduction can be devastating.
In the Wednesday kidnapping of Luca Principali, for example, police say he seemed to recognize his mother at the door but didn't want to go.
Dr. Thomas Young with the Warm Springs Counseling Center says such a moment can be extremely hard on a child emotionally.
"It's a situation not the same as being kidnapped by a stranger obviously," said Dr. Young. "But there's a sense of complete loss of control, complete fear. Will I ever see my other parent again?"
The children in parental abduction cases are usually very young, and a study by the University of Maryland found 16 percent of those children experience serious mental harm.
"It can create issues of unrecognized anger, and anxiety," said Dr. Young. "Children become very anxious in these situations. We know from very recent studies children as early as the age of 3 can become significantly depressed."
Children in troubled marriages already have emotional issues to deal with, but experts say when a parent takes a child by force, it creates a new dimension of dread.
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