Premium
Influence of Child and Family Factors on Judicial Decisions in Contested Custody Cases *
Author(s) -
Wallace Sara R.,
Koerner Susan Silverberg
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
family relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1741-3729
pISSN - 0197-6664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2003.00180.x
Subject(s) - child custody , psychology , family court , variety (cybernetics) , family law , judicial opinion , social psychology , primary caregiver , developmental psychology , child support , criminology , law , political science , artificial intelligence , computer science
To explore how child and family factors influence judicial decision making in contested custody cases, 18 family court judges participated in a semistructured interview that tapped (a) child and family factors considered relevant in determining child custody and (b) how these factors influence custody decisions. Judges cited a variety of factors as being influential, including the child's age and developmental status, the child's wishes regarding the custody arrangement, the child's stability, parental fitness, the history of the parent–child relationships, which parent has been the primary caregiver, each parent's willingness to foster the child's relationship with the other parent, and extrafamilial support. Results from a content analysis reflect the manner in which these factors influence judicial decision making. Emergent themes were identified based on four overarching factors.