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THE USE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING IN CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS
Author(s) -
Otto Randy K.,
Edens John F.,
Barcus Elizabeth H.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
family court review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.171
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 1744-1617
pISSN - 1531-2445
DOI - 10.1111/j.174-1617.2000.tb00578.x
Subject(s) - child custody , documentation , psychology , test (biology) , mental health , psychological testing , psychological evaluation , professional standards , process (computing) , legislature , legal guardian , applied psychology , psychiatry , clinical psychology , law , engineering ethics , criminology , political science , computer science , paleontology , engineering , biology , programming language , operating system
Evaluation of families for purposes of assisting the court in making decisions about custody is perhaps the most complicated forensic evaluation. Mental health professionals conducting such evaluations must ensure that their evaluations validly assess areas of concern deemed relevant by the judiciary and legislature. Evaluators sometimes use psychological measures in the evaluation process, and in recent years, a number of tests designed specifically for use in child custody evaluation contexts have been developed. Because some published tests do not meet basic professional standards, child custody evaluators should carefully review any test and its supporting documentation before including it in their examination procedures. In this article, the authors discuss the rationale for using psychological tests in child custody evaluations, describe current testing practices, review and critique contemporary custody evaluation instruments, and offer a template for mental health professionals to use when considering use of a particular test.