Child Custody Evaluations Research Articles

Psychiatric Genetics in Child Custody Proceedings: Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues.

This paper considers the ethical, legal, and social issues raised by the prospect of increasing use of psychiatric genetic data in child custody litigation. Although genetic tests cannot currently confirm a parent or child's psychiatric diagnosis, it is likely that as relevant findings emerge, they will be introduced in family courts to challenge parental capacity. Here, we draw on three projected, but plausible, scenarios for obtaining psychiatric data about parents -- imposed genetic testing, access to medical records, and genetic theft -- then consider the use of psychiatric genetic data of children, to highlight the issues that judges, child custody evaluators, and clinicians who may provide treatment for parents or children with mental health issues will need to consider. These include: genetic privacy, stigma, genetic surveillance, and judicial and health professionals' bias. We argue that the unchecked introduction of psychiatric genetic data may have a detrimental effect on the administration of justice. In particular, the article highlights the risk that the (mis)use of psychiatric genetic data in custody disputes would 1) exacerbate stigma and treatment-avoidance among parents and incentivize privacy violations to pressure parents to relinquish parental rights; 2) disproportionately affect poor parents and single mothers of color involved with Child Protective Services; and 3) detract attention from social and environmental factors impacting mental health to the detriment of the families involved. Awareness of these issues and an understanding of the meaning of genomic data by judges and custody evaluators will be pivotal in ensuring that justice is served.

Promoting Coparenting After Divorce: A Relational Perspective on Child Custody Evaluations in Italy

ABSTRACTThis study intended to explore how child custody evaluations might help in supporting parents during the transition of divorce to continue to be parents together. Sixteen Italian divorced parents were interviewed using an ad hoc semistructured interview. Data were analyzed by T-LAB software. Findings indicated a shift from the structural aspects of the intervention to the dynamic ones, as well as from an individual vision of the child to a more relational one, from the problems and the conflicts to resources, mutual respect, and trust. Results are discussed in relation to practical implications for intervention.

Regulação das responsabilidades parentais: Discursos dos magistrados sobre a prática pericial

A avaliação psicológica no âmbito da regulação das responsabilidades parentais é uma das áreas mais exigentes da prática forense, devido ao conflito e à carga emocional que lhe estão subjacentes. A lei concede aos magistrados a opção de recorrer à perícia psicológica como auxiliar da sua tomada de decisão. Com o intuito de conhecer a valoração e o impacto que as perícias psicológicas têm na decisão judicial, analisaram-se os discursos de dez magistrados, com recurso ao programa Nvivo. Os resultados permitiram concluir que a perícia psicológica se assume como um importante instrumento auxiliar da decisão judicial. No cômputo geral, os participantes manifestaram-se satisfeitos com a prática pericial, nomeadamente com a sua objetividade, exaustividade e fundamentação, sublinhando, no entanto, a necessidade de uma maior celeridade na sua emissão e de um maior cuidado ao nível da linguagem utilizada. Os laços entre a Psicologia e o Direito estão atualmente mais estreitos.

Qualitative Analysis of Current Child Custody Evaluation Practices

Qualitative Analysis of Current Child Custody Evaluation Practices

Exploring a Process‐Oriented Forensic Family Observation Protocol

This article recommends a modification of the child interview and observational components of the conventional child custody evaluation. By scheduling these events in back‐to‐back sequence, the evaluator adds critical process‐oriented data to familiar content‐oriented data. These additional data include at least eight landmark separation, reunion, and transition events valuable to understanding the dynamic family system. The benefits of this protocol are discussed in terms of the ecological validity of available data, reduced evaluation time and costs, and research. Limitations are discussed relevant to questions of sampling bias, fatigue and sequence effects, and practical dilemmas that arise when evaluating families with many children.

The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in Child Custody Evaluations: Some Contextual and Psychometric Considerations

The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in Child Custody Evaluations: Some Contextual and Psychometric Considerations

Special Considerations in Child Custody Evaluations for Children with High‐Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

Asperger's Disorder, which now is subsumed under Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the DSM‐5, is increasingly being identified in children and adolescents. As a result, professionals in family law courts will have more exposure to children with ASD. However, there are limited guidelines and few published studies directing how family court professionals should take into account the unique needs of these families. This article will provide the reader with an understanding of high‐functioning ASD, the impact it has on the family, and comorbid issues. This article provides specific suggestions for how evaluators should assess families when a child has ASD and will provide guidance for attorneys and judges. Keypoints for the Family Court Community: The rate of autism has increased in recent decades leading to more children with autism being involved with family court professionals. Attorneys, judges, and mental health professionals working in family court need to understand high‐functioning autism and its impact on children, parents, and their families. Families with children with high‐functioning autism require custom‐made parenting plans that address the unique needs of the child. In developing parenting plans, family court professionals need to consider comorbid disorders when dealing with children and adolescents with autism. Family court professionals should have additional training and expertise when working with families where a child has high‐functioning autism. When families of children with autism are involved in family court, they present a broad range of unique factors which impact educational issues, parenting plans, decision making, treatment, and the entire family system.

Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse: Issues to Consider in Child Custody Evaluations

Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse: Issues to Consider in Child Custody Evaluations

The Utility of the MCMI-III in Child Custody Evaluations: The Impact of Clinical Norms

The aim of the current study was to examine the utility of the MCMI-III in forensic child custody cases. There is debate in the psychological assessment field regarding the use of the MCMI-III with nonpatient samples. Over the years, the MCMI-III Test Manual has changed its position on the issue going from a statement in which it would not be uncommon to find the results “null” because of the high levels of positive impression management to cautioning the psychologist to be aware of the aforementioned concerns. The current study utilizes 113 forensic child custody MCMI-IIIs. The protocols were examined and a review of the interpretive issues of high scores was conducted. The current study found highly elevated Base rate scores on Validity Scale Y, and on Clinical Personality Pattern Scales 4, 5, and 7. The article concludes with six clear recommendations to psychologists that choose to use the MCMI-III in child custody evaluations.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse: Issues to Consider in Child Custody Evaluations

Introduction to the Special Issue on Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse: Issues to Consider in Child Custody Evaluations

A Qualitative Study of Child Custody Evaluators’ Beliefs and Opinions

Practices in child custody evaluations have created controversy and debate among professionals. Semi-structured interviews of 10 highly experienced child custody evaluators were analyzed to gain an understanding of the evaluation process, changes in the field, and evaluators’ opinions and beliefs, especially concerning intimate partner violence (IPV) and parental alienation. Although a small qualitative sample, multiple evaluators had extreme beliefs and opinions about the prevalence of IPV in child custody cases, the belief that there is no such thing as parental alienation syndrome (PAS), and the need to differentiate between alienation and estrangement. Evaluators continue to value the ability of parents to co-parent as a top variable for making custody recommendations, seemingly regardless of alleged or substantiated IPV. Other concerning themes were identified and theoretical problem areas are discussed.

Unmasking the Abuse: Psychological Defenses in Child Custody Disputes

The following is written for child custody evaluators with the expectation that it will improve their assessment of risk to the subject children. It is argued that disputes engendering the need for these evaluations are a function of different parenting styles, but it is reliably reported as well that these disputes can mask coercive and controlling abuse. I describe two defensive mechanisms, projective identification and dissociation, that create the perceptual distortions responsible for the viciousness of many child custody disputes and can lead to custody decisions that may not protect the subject children. These defenses were theorized by early psychoanalysts and have now found significant empirical support. Additionally, this article may be of interest to those studying destructive conflict generally.

Child Custody Evaluations: Review of the Literature and Annotated Bibliography

This review of custody evaluation literature encompasses a number of perspectives gleaned from the following: practitioners who perform the evaluations; the professional organizations that recognize the necessity to establish performance standards for practitioners; and the judges who depend on the findings and recommendations in the evaluations to assist with difficult custody decisions.General agreement exists among practitioners about the components of a comprehensive evaluation (interviews of adults responsible for child care, interviews of children and their preferences, life histories, observations, psychological testing, document review, and collateral source data), though little consensus exists about the details of performance concerning a given component. For instance, many authors recommend direct parent-child observations, but there is little agreement about observational protocols (Hynan, 2002). Choice of psychological test(s) is largely left to the discretion of the evaluator (Turkat, 2005), though evaluators are urged to choose tests that address issues of parenting capacity (AFCC Standards, 2006; DeWard, 2005). Stark differences of opinion exist concerning the suitability of using several commonly employed tests, including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), Rorschach, and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory - III (MCMI-III). One author believes these tests were designed for other uses and should be excluded from the custody evaluation process (Ericson, 2007), while others assert that these tests are helpful to verify information reported by parents, children, and others in disputed custody cases (Jaffe & Mandeleew, 2008). Parent inventory tests designed for use in custody evaluations, such as the Parent-Child Relationship Inventory (Gerard, 2005) and the Parenting Stress Index (Abidin, 1995), are used more frequently since the inception of the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines (1994) (Quinnell & Bow, 2001).

Judging the quality of child custody evaluations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to assess whether the criteria that have been developed by mental health professionals to judge the quality of child custody reports matches the criteria employed by members of the legal profession. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the literature on the standards that have been developed to assess the quality of child custody reports and compare it to the criteria used by attorneys and judges. Findings – The broad criteria used by mental health professionals in assessing the quality of child custody reports mostly matches those employed by judges and attorneys. Research limitations/implications – There is limited research that focusses on a detailed, qualitative analysis of each component of a child custody report. Practical implications – Is it essential that a qualitative analysis of child custody reports be performed because it would impact on how professional approach such evaluations. Originality/value – Having research focussing on a detailed qualitative analysis of child custody evaluations may enhance the quality of such products.

The Complementary Roles of Scientific and Clinical Thinking in Child Custody Evaluations

Child custody evaluations (CCEs) have largely been governed by the scientific method. The need to use scientific reasoning has been identified. This article proposes that two scientific principles contribute to scientific reasoning in forensic mental health assessments (FMHAs): falsifiability and consistency. It proposes a “Step-Down” schema in which data consistently supporting one alternative hypothesis establishes a baseline of validity for an expert's opinion; unexplained inconsistent data reduces that validity; and unexplained logically contradictory data reduces it further and may destroy or falsify it. Using the schema, expert opinions in a CCE with sexual abuse and parental alienation allegations are analyzed. Ultimately, the schema makes evaluators more aware of the foundation they need to produce valid expert opinions; in guiding their integration of all data into their opinions; and in providing attorneys and judges with a rational basis on which to challenge the weights experts give to parts of the evidence.

An Examination of the MMPI-2-RF (Restructured Form) With the MMPI-2 and MCMI-III of Child Custody Litigants

Psychologists have become increasingly involved with child custody evaluations. These evaluations involve a variety of psychometric instruments, such as the MMPI-2 and MCMI-III, to assess parental fitness. Studies examining psychometric instruments in the child custody context have addressed the MMPI-2 and MCMI-III individually; however, test-taking attitudes across multiple measures have been limited. The present study compared the MCMI-III with the MMPI-2-RF in a sample of 49 child custody litigants, as well as examined how the sample performed on the MMPI-2-RF. Significant correlations were found between MMPI-2-RF Validity Scale L-r, MCMI-III Modifying Index Y, MMPI-2-RF Scale RC9, and MCMI-III Scale 5. Results also showed consistency between T score elevations typically found on MMPI-2 Validity Scales L and K with scales L-r and K-r on the MMPI-2-RF. Mean T scores for the RC Scales demonstrated lower elevations than have been shown with the MMPI-2 Clinical Scales in samples of child custody litigants.

MMPI-2 Clinical Scale 6 (Paranoia) and Restructured Clinical Scale 6 (Ideas of Persecution) in Child Custody Litigants

The MMPI-2 is the most frequently used psychological test with parents undergoing child custody evaluations (CCE’s). Studies of parents who completed the MMPI-2 in the CCE context have consistently found that, on average, parents portray a very favorable image of themselves as both virtuous and psychologically well-adjusted. Also, on average, Clinical Scale 6 (Paranoia) and its counterpart on the Restructured Clinical Scales, RC6, “Ideas of Persecution”, have been the most frequently elevated of the clinical scales on the MMPI-2 in samples of child custody litigants, albeit, the reported scores on these scales were well within the norm. This paper examines the significance of clinically elevated scores on Scale 6 (and RC6) in parents undergoing CCE’s, with consideration of both contextual and psychometric features. Based on these considerations, this writer suggests that custody evaluators may encounter the paradox that some parents whose clinical profile suggests mistrust and suspiciousness in interpersonal relations may actually trust enough to report their perceptions in a candid and forthcoming manner. Some of these parents may not be mistrustful in general and might not be inclined to model or influence their children toward the development of mistrust. In contrast, other parents may respond to the test in a more defensive and deceptive manner resulting in a “normal” clinical profile, which may be specific to the evaluation context, but may also reflect moral righteousness and a more insidious tactic. The custody evaluator is advised to use caution when interpreting clinically elevated scores on the MMPI-2.

Research Based Recommendations for Child Custody Evaluation Practices and Policies in Cases of Intimate Partner Violence

This article reviews recent research on child custody evaluations in intimate partner violence (IPV) cases. Specifically, it covers assessment methods, evaluator selection, evaluator education, guidelines, differential assessment, and state policies. Special attention is given to new methods of bias reduction, the need to focus on coercive and controlling abuse, and the need to interpret psychological tests within a trauma framework. Recommendations are made in each area reviewed.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Attitudes and Current Research Concerning Intimate Partner Violence: Issues for Child Custody

The classification of domestic abuse in to distinct types has, unfortunately, become a divisive issue in the field of family violence and the practice of child custody evaluations. Typologies for t...

Daniel J. Hynan: Child Custody Evaluation: New Theoretical Applications and Research

Daniel J. Hynan: Child Custody Evaluation: New Theoretical Applications and Research