The term is broad and may include power dynamics within a marriage or may describe the behaviors of divorced or never married parents.
Most "gatekeeping" situations are studied with consenting married couples who are first-time parents.
Many mental health professionals have agreed that such terms are merely an attempt to explain a child's resistance to visitation with the father.
High-conflict circumstances already visible in the marriage can lead to accusations of incompetence, neglect, or abuse of the children –usually by the mother against the father –once the relationship is being adjudicated in a divorce preceding.
Independent individual studies of all three are still in progress with findings to be published later.