The development and psychometric properties of a quality measure for child custody evaluations

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop a measure of quality for Single Expert Reports (known as child custody evaluations or CCEs in the United States) and assess their psychometric properties. The Quality Measure for Child Custody Evaluations (QM-CCE) was derived from a previous survey of judges, lawyers and psychologists that identified 30 key components of a CCE plus an item assessing Overall Quality. Forty-four students enrolled in Master of Psychology programs in New South Wales (N = 44), Australia read seven mock reports and rated the quality using the QM-CCE. Inter-rater reliability was within the acceptable to excellent range across reports (ICC = .79 − .95). Exploratory Factor Analysis found a single dimension that underpins the measure. Internal consistency of the sub-scales was excellent (α = .98). Inter-rater reliability was also excellent (ICC = .99). Although the single item, Overall Quality, was highly correlated with the Multi-item Response, systematic patterns of difference were found. Given the promising psychometric properties of the QM-CCE, it may be a useful instrument not only for research purposes but for evaluators to improve the quality of their work and for legal professionals to decide the weight accorded to the CCE.