Custody Evaluation in High-conflict Situations Focused on Domestic Violence and Parental Alienation Syndrome

In a divorced family, child-centered custody evaluation is essential to ensure the child’s best interests and healthy adaptation. A mental health professional’s role and involvement are required in gaining an in-depth understanding of various environments and dynamics surrounding the child and family. Domestic violence, including child abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV) or parental alienation syndrome (PAS), is often observed in cases of custody evaluation in high-conflict divorced families, sometimes accompanied by allegations. Such cases warrant an extremely careful approach by the evaluator, who needs to be competent in interpreting the familial dynamics based on a reasonable context understanding. Genuine professionalism is a must for a custody evaluator to best help the child and carry out a high-quality custody evaluation process, and evaluators need to be ready for this task through adequate preparation and empowerment. This article is devoted to examining custody evaluation in divorced families in cases of IPV, child abuse, and PAS.

[1]  C. Chu,et al.  Parental alienation syndrome: Is it valid? , 2018 .

[2]  Tells Us,et al.  Use of the MMPI-2 in Child Custody Evaluations Involving Battered Women: What Does Psychological Research Tell Us? , 2016 .

[3]  D. Saunders.  Research Based Recommendations for Child Custody Evaluation Practices and Policies in Cases of Intimate Partner Violence , 2015 .

[4]  W. Bernet,et al.  Parental alienation, DSM-5, and ICD-11: response to critics. , 2013, The journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

[5]  K. Faller,et al.  Child Custody Evaluators' Beliefs About Domestic Abuse Allegations: Their Relationship to Evaluator Demographics, Background, Domestic Violence Knowledge and Custody-Visitation Recommendations , 2012 .

[6]  B. Hayes,et al.  Abusive Men’s Indirect Control of Their Partner During the Process of Separation , 2012, Journal of Family Violence.

[7]  N. V. Steegh,et al.  Look Before You Leap: Court System Triage of Family Law Cases Involving Intimate Partner Violence , 2012 .

[8]  Phillip A. K. Hash,et al.  The parental alienation debate belongs in the courtroom, not in DSM-5. , 2012, The journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

[9]  M. M. Farkas.  An introduction to parental alienation syndrome. , 2011, Journal of psychosocial nursing and mental health services.

[10]  W. Bernet,et al.  Parental Alienation, DSM-V, and ICD-11 , 2010 .

[11]  B. Spring,et al.  Guidelines for child custody evaluations in family law proceedings. , 2010, The American psychologist.

[12]  R. Geffner,et al.  Conducting Child Custody Evaluations in the Context of Family Violence Allegations: Practical Techniques and Suggestions for Ethical Practice , 2009 .

[13]  A. Baker.  Adult Children of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Breaking the Ties that Bind , 2007 .

[14]  J. Hoult.  The Evidentiary Admissibility of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Science, Law, and Policy , 2006 .

[15]  Grace H. Chung,et al.  Intimate partner violence, parental divorce, and child custody : Directions for intervention and future research , 2006 .

[16]  N. Bala,et al.  False allegations of abuse and neglect when parents separate. , 2005, Child abuse & neglect.

[17]  J. Johnston,et al.  Is It Alienating Parenting, Role Reversal or Child Abuse? A Study of Children's Rejection of a Parent in Child Custody Disputes , 2005 .

[18]  E. Ellis.  Help for the Alienated Parent , 2005 .

[19]  Mary A. Kernic,et al.  Children in the Crossfire , 2005, Violence against women.

[20]  P. Jaffe,et al.  Protecting children from domestic violence : strategies for community intervention , 2004 .

[21]  W. Bernet.  Child custody evaluations. , 2002, Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America.

[22]  R. Gardner.  Parental Alienation Syndrome vs. Parental Alienation: Which Diagnosis Should Evaluators Use in Child-Custody Disputes? , 2002 .

[23]  R. Gardner.  SHOULD COURTS ORDER PAS CHILDREN TO VISIT/RESIDE WITH THE ALIENATED PARENT? A Follow-up Study , 2001 .

[24]  Carol S. Bruch.  Parental Alienation Syndrome and Parental Alienation: Getting It Wrong in Child Custody Cases , 2001 .

[25]  R. Sheehan,et al.  Revealing the existence of child abuse in the context of marital breakdown and custody and access disputes. , 2000, Child abuse & neglect.

[26]  J. Dunne,et al.  The parental alienation syndrome: An analysis of sixteen selected cases. , 1994 .

[27]  J. Johnston,et al.  Impasses Of Divorce: The Dynamics and Resolution of Family Conflict , 1988 .

[28]  J. Wallerstein,et al.  Surviving The Breakup: How Children And Parents Cope With Divorce , 1980 .

[29]  J. Wallerstein,et al.  The effects of parental divorce: experiences of the child in later latency. , 1976, The American journal of orthopsychiatry.

[30]  D. Elkind.  Children and adolescents , 1970 .