The Scientific Quality of Child Custody Evaluations

PsycCRITIQUES ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lennart Sjöberg
2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison T. O'Neill ◽  
Kay Bussey ◽  
Christopher J. Lennings ◽  
Katie M. Seidler

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Yohananoff

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.


2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Roma ◽  
Federica Ricci ◽  
Georgios D. Kotzalidis ◽  
Luigi Abbate ◽  
Anna Lubrano Lavadera ◽  
...  

In recent years, several studies have addressed the issue of positive self-presentation bias in assessing parents involved in postdivorce child custody litigations. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) is widely used in forensic assessments and is able to evaluate positive self-presentation through its Superlative Self-Presentation S scale. We investigated the existence of a gender effect on positive self-presentation bias in an Italian sample of parents involved in court evaluation. Participants were 391 divorced parents who completed the full 567-item Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 during child custody evaluations ordered by several Italian courts between 2006 and 2010. Our analysis considered the S scale along with the basic clinical scales. North-American studies had shown no gender differences in child custody litigations. Differently, our results showed a significantly higher tendency toward “faking-good” profiles on the MMPI-2 among Italian women as compared to men and as compared to the normative Italian female population. Cultural and social factors could account for these differences.


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