Child custody

Numerous academics have raised concerns about the scientific validity of custody evaluations. To improve the quality of eval- uations, the root cause of highly trained people frequently producing reports with limited scientific value (no scientifically based nexus between the data and the conclusion) needs to be understood. Review of 50 evaluations found violations of scientific methodology including: cherry picking data, arbitrary determinations of contested facts, using ad hoc hypotheses rather than the results of empirical research, presenting highly speculative inferences as expert opinions, misinterpretation of psychological testing, incorrect interpretation of the behavior of abused children, and reliance on the presence of conver- gent data rather than hypothesis testing to reach conclusions. The key finding was that errors almost always helped the same parent, indicating that bias drove many of the errors. Combining cognitive psychology and behavioral economics provides an understanding of the high frequency and power of bias in the reports. Intuition, which is highly susceptible to bias, forges our initial opinions, and then confirmation bias affects the vetting, valuing, remembering and interpretation of the data used in abortive attempts at rigorous analysis. To improve the scientific validity of evaluations several steps are needed including (1) better oversight of evaluations, (2) edu- cating evaluators and courts about scientific methodology, the high risk of bias, and the results of empirically based research, and (3) adoption of more structured approaches to custody evaluations.

We have a problem in the arena of divorce and custody. We have a system that is not impartial and often serves as a breeding ground for disingenuous and unethical actions committed by players in the legal arena and sometimes (knowingly and unknowingly) enabled by the very courts people believe will determine fact from fiction. Many Fathers have an uphill challenge awaiting them as they seek what many others before the law and courts seek...fairness and the right to be heard.

The DSM-5 Task Force is presently considering whether to adopt parental alienation disorder (PAD) as a mental illness. Although controversy has surrounded PAD since its inception in 1985, pro-PAD groups and individuals have breathed new life into the push to establish it as a mental health diagnosis. In this analysis, we argue that it would be a serious mistake to adopt parental alienation disorder as a formal mental illness in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5).

Attachment is the inborn bias of human children to seek the availability of familiar care givers in times of stress. It has been observed from ancient times and in many cultures, and scaffolds further physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development. The security of these relationships is shaped by the continuity and quality of the child-rearing environ ment, and is independent of biological ties to the caregiver. In this chapter, the child's right to a "good-enough"-that is, at least minimally adequate but not necessarily 'best'-family life and the importance of a stable network of attachment relationships is high lighted. Legal issues raised by multi-parent care, including questions around the use of attachment-based assessments for custody decisions, are addressed. Attachment theory is well equipped to inform what caregiving arrangements children need, and legislators, judges, and lawyers may consult it as a source of insight into "good-enough" care arrangements in the interest of the child.

The author offers commentary concerning the importance of an evaluator'S disclosure of prior or current relationships with custody litigants; of diligence in the creation and maintenance of records; and of cooperation with those wishing to scrutinize one'S work. The position is advanced that all information considered by an evaluator must be preserved, as must audio or video tape recordings of interviews and evaluative sessions. The author opines that where a thorough exploration of the bases for an evaluator'S opinions is impeded by deficient records or by the unavailability of certain records, the risk is increased that evaluator errors will go undetected.

This thesis examines child custody contestations in order to understand how parental rights and responsibilities are constructed and contested in the legal sphere. Based on the analysis of thirty four court files concluded in Istanbul, Turkey between 1996 and 2002, I discuss the ways in which women and men are entitled with rights and responsibilities with regards to their children in custody trials. My main finding is that gendered inequalities are sustained and reproduced within the legal institution. Women are given the right and duty of their young children’s care through the motherly care and affection trope and their sexual morality is supervised in custody contestations. Fathers, by contrast, are entitled to the childcare services of their kin and represented as providers of class habitus and education for their children. 
While the legal status of Turkish women has received substantial interest both within and outside academia, the hegemonic view of the Turkish modernist nationalization project has long dominated the discourse around the subject, limiting speakers to the celebration of the “emancipation” of Turkish women. Moreover, most of the reflections are limited to the articles of the Civil Code and social-scientific studies of practiced law remain rare. This thesis demonstrates that the word of the law is neither a sufficient nor a central variable in understanding how inequalities are reproduced in the legal universe of child custody. This finding is even more significant after the 2001 Civil Code Reform that recently rewritten the Turkish family law in a gender-neutral language with the premise that such move will result in furthering gender equality in the legal sphere.

Journal of Gerontology: SOCIAL SCIENCES 1998, Vol. 53B, No. 5, S249-S257 ... Copyright 1998 by The Gerontological Society of America ... Valarie King1 and Glen H. Elder, Jr.2 ... 'Departments of Sociology and Human Development, and Population Research Institute, The ...

Leslie M. Drozd, PhD, earned a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Cali-fornia School of Professional Psychology in 1986. She is a past president of the Orange Country Psychological Association and has received their Orange Psi award for out-standing contributions to the ...

This article samples possible uses of psychoanalysis in law from the academic work of Joseph Goldstein and Jay Katz. Both start to recognize the importance of psychoanalysis to provide a serious and courageous attention to the non-rational dimensions of the human being, we should be aware in the world of law. Starting from this premise, the author explores two possible uses of psychoanalysis in law: one represented by Goldstein, focuses on using «psychoanalytic premises to resolve legal disputes», for example by providing psychoanalytic information to determine the best interests of the child in cases of custody, while the other, represented by Katz, who seeks to «create an awareness of conflict where all of the actors had previously been locked in a mutually reinforcing fantasy that no conflict existed», as it occurs in doctor-patient relationship, in order to rethink standards that had been set by law under an illusion of objectivity and rationality. The article explores these two approaches through examples, linking two perspectives adopted by Freud throughout his academic work and taking a preferred position by the position of Katz.

The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 includes provisions to deny reunification services under specified conditions and gives states latitude to develop any number of additional "aggravated circumstances" in which parents need not be offered services. California legislators have developed a relatively large number of conditions enabling agencies to bypass reunification services. Based upon a case record review involving 1,055 parents, this study attempts to identify the proportion of parents eligible for a reunification bypass, the proportion recommended to the courts, and the proportion of parents who were denied reunification services, and examines the characteristics of parents associated with reunification bypass recommendations. Based upon focus groups and interviews with child welfare and judicial personnel in six counties, the study also examines the implementation of reunification bypass provisions. Implications for public policy and practice are provided.

Co-parenting after divorce has an impact on child adjustment, namely, when parenting gate- keeping and conflict occur. After separation/divorce parents coercive parenting and styles, conflict and triangulation co-parenting types can enhance child ́s vulnerability. Particularly if the child is under than 3 years of age. With an increase of divorce ratings, child custody arrangements and its impact on young children needs to addressed. We intend to explore the effects of these variables on children of separated parents with current child custody process in family court (litigious and non-litigious). The Portuguese version of Parenting Styles Questionnaire - parent's version; Co-parenting Questionnaire and Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire where applied to 93 Portuguese parents (49 mothers; 44 fathers) of an infant aged under 3 years of old, separated from 12 to 69 months with custody process in family court to regulate child custody from 12 to 40 months. This purpose sample included 42 parents with shared custody and 51 with full custody agreements. Parents participated willingly and all ethical standards were assured. Findings enhance the predictive power of the model including authority styles (authoritative, authoritarian and permissive) and co-parenting strategies (cooperation, triangulation and conflict) on child adjustment internalized and externalized problems (emotional, behavioral and social dimensions') for both custody agreements. Overall, authoritarian parenting styles and parenting conflict exert major impact on child adjustment. Parents with full custody agreements see their children as presenting more emotional and social problems (F(3,35) = 22.27, p < .001; d = 1.11 and F(3,44) = 15.21, p < .001; d = 2.18). Findings suggest authoritarian parenting styles and parenting conflict as major contributors for poor early child adjustment and well-being, particularly in children living with one parent household in full custody agreement. We emphasize that families had an ongoing custody process in family court, which could contribute to parenting conflict. These findings suggest the need to further study the impact of full and shared child custody agreements on child adjustment and development, in early childhood. Also, we stress the importance of post- divorce parenting educational programs for helping parent's on parenting educational patterns and behaviors, communication skills, emotional regulation, and awareness of what's in the best interest of child well-being and healthy development.

The individualised nature of the best interests of the child (BIOC) principle should be considered its greatest strength rather than perhaps its greatest vulnerability. However, to ensure that this principle is effectively employed in court proceedings reliance on valid and reliable expert evidence is crucial. Psychologists conducting child custody evaluations operate within the dual frameworks offered by the APA ethical guidelines and the AFCC model standards of practice. While these frameworks provide parameters in which evaluations are conducted, too often evaluations are invalid due to insufficient training on the part of evaluators. Seasoned attorneys and judges are aware that evaluations provided are not equally meritorious and understanding how to tell the difference is crucial to generating effective parenting plans. This paper offers a brief introduction Wittmann’s (2013) case assessment analysis system (CAAS), and provides a glimpse into how to analyse expert evidence in terms of (1) management of professional relationships, (2) data adequacy, (3) technique adequacy and (4) reasoning adequacy to locate lacunae and protect the best interests of children.

Understanding the relationship between psychological ethics and scientifically informed methodology is critical to a competently crafted child custody advisory report. This paper offers a working definition of the forensic model and integrates elements of the 2002 American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct(American Psychological Association, 2002) with forensic methods and procedures as applied to child custody evaluations.

While the roles of trial consultant and testifying expert witness share many functions, the field of forensic psychology has evolved and it appears that, among those who offer these services regularly, there is a developing consensus that keeping these roles distinct is beneficial for the forensic practitioner, for attorneys advocating for clients, for the courts, and for litigants themselves.

The purpose of the proposed study is to discover and understand how noncustodial Austrian fathers describe and experience the effects of either parental alienation or parental alienation syndrome (PAS).  The investigation will include a minimum of 150 Austrian men who have experienced alienative behavior from their former partners concerning their children.  The present day status of the surveyed fathers will be evaluated in this ethnography.

Every decision to be arrived at by a court that affects the child in probate matters, has to be done so bearing the best interests of that child. Custody of children is the most contended issue in family law where there is a matter of divorce. As such, the best interests of the child have to be considered in determining who is to be awarded custody of children and it is this that this research paper is concerned.

Little is known about the long-term impact on the child of abduction by a parent. Children who had been kidnapped by one of their parents and hidden for an average of 2.7 years have been followed for a decade through contact with the parent who recovered them. This study reports on the most recent series of interviews. It was hypothesized that children who were now late teens and young adults would, on the whole, be progressing satisfactorily into young adulthood and that relationships with their parents would be non-problematic. According to 32 parental reports gleaned both from a telephone interview with open-ended and closed-ended questions and from a brief mailed questionnaire with closed-ended questions, a significant minority of the children continue to suffer emotionally and may be having more physical ailments than their peers. Relations with recovering parents were non-problematic.

The Narcissist in Custody Battles
Presentation made by Sam Vaknin
Author of “Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited”

In the 11th Annual and First International
Battered Mothers Custody Conference
http://batteredmotherscustodyconference.org/

The film Mrs. Doubtfire, while funny and heartwarming, subtly- or not so subtly- promotes an anti-feminist and men's rights activist viewpoint. By sanitizing the behavior of a likeable but immature and often aggressive man, it pushes the audience to underestimate the troublesome character of many divorced men and puts the blame for their behavior on liberated women.

The issue of child custody has always been a crucial matter to be determined especially in a divorce petition either unilateral divorce or mutual divorce. The Court in granting the divorce will go indepth on custody of the infant child. There is no strict sense of so-called "Child Custody Law" in Malaysia as compared to the United Kingdom. However, two main statutes have governed issues related to child custody in Malaysia ie. Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (hereinafter referred to as "the LRA") and Guardianship of Infant Act 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the GIA"). This Article is aimed to give a basic understanding of the child custody issues in Malaysia, specifically relatives or foster parents who wish to obtain child custody over their birth parents.

This is a slightly revised version of my article entitled “The Custody of Children in the Muslim Law of Sri Lanka” published in (1979) Meezan 23. Meezan is an annual publication of the Muslim Majlis of the Sri Lanka Law College, and has been the primary repository of my articles relating to Muslim law. The article primarily deals with the principles of Muslim Law that applies to Muslims of Sri Lanka with respect to the custody of minor children. The principles are mainly sharita’t based, and have been well illustrated by reference to Sri Lankan judicial decisions, and wherever appropriate, comparisons have been made with the principles of the Common law of Sri Lanka that do not apply to Muslims of Sri Lanka in regard to custody of children. 
Since the Quazi Court that exercises matrimonial jurisdiction over Muslim inhabitants of Sri Lanka has not been conferred with the power to deal with issues of custody and access, cases involving custody are dealt with by the District Courts in Sri Lanka. Most of the judicial decisions discussed in the article are of the appellate courts on appeals from District Courts, or decisions relating to habeas corpus applications. In the concluding part of this article, the question of whether the custody jurisdiction should be vested in the Quazi Court after it is appropriately upgraded to modern standards is also considered, since the  vesting of the custody and matrimonial jurisdictions in two different courts can not only cause unnecessary difficulties to the estranged spouses and the affected children but can also put justice in disarray due to the possibility of inconsistent decisions emanating from a multiplicity of jurisdictions.

This Article analyzes the mainline Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican models of sex, marriage, and family and their gradual liberalization by Enlightenment liberalism. The theological differences between these models can be traced to their grounding in Lutheran two kingdoms doctrines, Calvinist covenantal theology, Anglican commonwealth theory, and Enlightenment contractarian logic. Lutherans consigned primary marital jurisdiction to the territorial prince or urban council. Calvinists assigned interlocking marital roles to local consistories and city councils. Anglicans left marital jurisdiction to church courts, subject to state oversight and legislation. The early Enlightenment philosophers, many of them Protestants, pressed for a sharper separation of church and state in the governance of marriage, and for stronger protections of the rights and equality of women and children within and beyond the marital household. But they maintained traditional Protestant prohibitions extramarital sex and no-fault divorce in an effort to protect especially women and children from exploitation.

Questions of divorce and child custody, along with connected issues like domestic violence, child abuse, and child support, have been characterized by clichés and misconceptions and by misleading and inaccurate information. This is attributable to failure to understand the politics behind these phenomena. All have been subject to political pressure and ideological manipulation, though this has been accompanied by almost no analysis, investigation, or explication by students of politics. Yet these matters have far-reaching consequences for the social order, including the political order, constitutional rights, and civil liberties. Almost no discussion has been held on the adverse consequences or the possible policy options appropriate to address them, though the measures available to rectify adverse impact on civil society are relatively straightforward.

Imagine you and your two-year old child move in with your parents, and you rely on them to care for her while you work several jobs at odd hours. After several years, you get into a fight about parenting, move out, and limit their time with your child. Should the law treat them as equal legal parents and allow a judge to decide how much grandparent visitation will benefit your child? Legal doctrines with this effect now appear in the Uniform Parentage Act (2017), the Uniform Nonparent Custody and Visitation Act, and the Restatement of Children and the Law. Under these de facto parenthood provisions, a nonparent can become a legal parent if the existing parent allows her to reside with, care for, and develop a relationship pa-rental in nature.

De facto parenthood is either unnecessary, unwise, or unconstitutional. Many courts adopted it to protect same-sex parents from discriminatory parentage statutes, but the new parentage presumptions and assisted reproduction provisions apply irrespective of gender or sexual orientation. De facto parenthood is often duplicative of rules about abandonment, guardianship, de facto custody, and stepparent adoption, except its broad parentage standard sometimes undermines their well-established formal limits. The doctrine’s only distinctive contribution concerns for-mer co-residential caregivers. It empowers judges to decide whether it is best for a child to maintain ongoing relationships with a relative, cohabitant, or stepparent who helped care for the child alongside her parent. In these cases, de facto parenthood violates parents’ constitutional rights. These parents consented to help, not to transfer their parental rights. Little evidence suggests that limiting a child’s ongoing relationships with secondary caretakers is harmful. Although de facto parenthood was an essential bridge to protect children and parents from discriminatory parentage laws, the doctrine should have no ongoing role in contemporary parentage law.