Child Custody Litigation Research Articles

Cross-Examining Mental Health Experts in Child Custody Litigation

Guidance is offered to attorneys preparing to cross-examine mental health experts in child custody litigation. The author provides information concerning the review of an expert's curriculum vitae and agreement with the parties; responsiveness to professional standards; evaluative procedures; use of collateral source information; selection of assessment instruments and utilization of computer-generated interpretive reports; and the degree to which opinions offered are supported by the data. Emphasis is placed upon the critical examination of an evaluator's specialized education and training and the significance (or lack thereof) of board certifications. Also examined in depth is the means by which to utilize an evaluator's contemporaneously taken notes in the development of areas of inquiry during cross-examination.

Normative data for the MMPI-2 in child custody litigation.

Normative data for the MMPI-2 in child custody litigation.

Normative data for the MMPI-2 in child custody litigation.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) norms based on 508 child custody litigants are presented. Defensive underreporting and self-favorability were often exhibited along with an elevation on the Over-Controlled Hostility (O-H) scale. Highest mean clinical scale scores were Hysteria, Paranoia, and Psychopathic Deviate. Differences were not found among mothers, fathers, and stepparents, indicating that a single set of norms is suitable. Findings highlight the importance of context specificity in personality assessment. Proper interpretation of personality inventories in child custody disputes needs to consider both the norms of the standardization sample and the litigants' reference norms. It was not possible to determine from the MMPI-2 per se whether a defensive approach overestimates mental health in a psychologically healthy population or conceals symptomatology in psychologically disturbed persons.

Managing Family Loyalty Conflicts in Child Custody Disputes

Child custody is an area of family decision-making that has long-term implications for children and their divorcing parents. The development of family-based theories of custody decision-making are critical to the systematic examination of established directions and to the formulation of relevant research questions. The authors report on their work wih families involved in child custody litigation with particular emphasis on family loyalty as a relational process that has implications for custody decision-making in both the family and the legal system.

Uses and implications of the contextual approach to child custody decisions.

Child custody litigation signals parental conflicts that have serious implications for a child's long-term development. The authors describe a family systems approach to child custody decision making--the contextual approach, derived from contextual family theory. A case study analysis and pilot study illustrate the use of the approach with a small group of families who turn to the legal system to resolve custody or visitation disputes. The findings suggest the approach's usefulness in helping families create alternatives to continued disputation. The findings also reinforce the need for further research to test the preventive potential of the approach in reducing returns to court.

Child custody mediation and litigation: Further evidence on the differing views of mothers and fathers.

An earlier study was replicated in which parents were randomly assigned to negotiate child custody disputes either in mediation or through the adversary system. In both the initial study (Emery & Wyer, 1987a) and the present replication, mediation greatly reduced the frequency of custody hearings, allowed settlements to be reached in half the time, and substantially improved the satisfaction reported by fathers. Considerably fewer differences were found for mothers who used the alternative forms of dispute resolution, however. Some differences found in both studies favored the women who litigated. No consistent differences in the psychological adjustment of mothers or fathers who mediated or litigated emerged across the two studies. Although careful consideration of findings argues against the conclusion that mediation is "good" for fathers and "bad" for mothers, findings point to the conflicting perspectives of men and women who contest child custody.

Validity of a Child Interview Measure of Attachment as Used in Child Custody Evaluations

21 girls and 23 boys were interviewed using the Parent Attachment Structured Interview to measure their attachments to mother and father. Attachment scores were then correlated with scores on the internalizing, externalizing and social competence scales of the Child Behavior Checklist. For boys the greater the positive attachment to fathers the fewer the internalizing behavior problems and the greater the social competence. Positive maternal attachment for boys was also positively related to social competence. For girls positive attachment to fathers predicted fewer problems internalizing behavior. Contrary to expectations, maternal positive attachment for girls was negatively correlated with social competence. Recommendations for use of the modification of the child interview measure are given with regard to its use in child custody litigation.

Psychological assessment versus psychological testing: Validation from Binet to the school, clinic, and courtroom.

Increasingly, psychological assessment is conducted with clients and patients involved in child custody and personal injury litigation. Clinical neuropsychologists are being asked sophisticated questions by attorneys regarding the validity of practitioners' most highly respected tests. Research reviewed here bears on the validity of test-buttressed clinical opinions, including research related to the following psychometric properties of individual test scores: standard errors of measurement, test-retest stability and subtest-to-subtest intercorrelations. The highest and the lowest subtest scores used as indices, respectively, of an individual's premorbid level of cognitive functioning and the degree of current impairment from that presumed earlier level is not justified when used in isolation from the life history and current medical findings. Although many practitioners use information from the wider research, courtroom experience suggests that a number do not; contrariwise, the attempt of Faust and Ziskin (1988a) to undermine the courtroom testimony of every psychologist who serves as an expert witness is also criticized.

Child custody mediation and litigation: An experimental evaluation of the experience of parents.

Child custody mediation and litigation: An experimental evaluation of the experience of parents.

THE BOOKSHELF

Book Review in this article CHILD CUSTODY LITIGATION: A Guide for Parents and Mental Health Professionals, by Richard A. Gardner, M.D., Creative Therapeutics, New Jersey, 1986, $18.00. LAW AND ETHICS IN COUNSELING, By Dean L. Hummel, Lou C. Talbutt, and M. David Alexander Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York (1984) $32.95 cloth. FAMILIES ARE FOREVER, by Nathan Schaefer, M.D. R & E Publishers, P.O. Box 2008, Saratoga, CA 95070.1985. 158 pages, softcover, $9.95.

An overview of child custody laws.

The increasing divorce rate, the large number of women in the workforce, and the expanded role of fathers in parenting have led to a dramatic increase in child custody litigation. The law has responded to this growing problem in many ways, the foremost being to shift the emphasis of child custody laws from the rights of the parents to the needs of the child. The author traces the development of child custody laws from English common law, which granted custody to fathers, to the present best-interests-of-the-child standard. Criteria for evaluating the child's best interests, legislation to reduce postdecree litigation and child snatching, and approaches to ease the pain of family breakups, such as joint custody and divorce mediation, are among the many facets of present laws discussed by the author.

Psychodynamic and Family Issues in Post-Divorce Child Custody Litigation

Court requests for evaluation of children and families involved in post-divorce litigation are increasing. The range of situations which may confront the professional, including access problems and requests for change of custody, are described. Eight distinct psycho-dynamic patterns which have been observed in such cases are discussed. These include: 1) normal developmental crises, 2) unresolved grief regarding the divorce, 3) current life crises, 4) recapitulation of familial patterns, 5) projected recapitulation of familial patterns, 6) neurotic reactions, 7) pyschotic reactions, and 8) characterlogical manipulations.

Family Evaluation in Child Custody Litigation

Family Evaluation in Child Custody Litigation