Research Based Recommendations for Child Custody Evaluation Practices and Policies in Cases of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

This article reviews recent research on child custody evaluations in intimate partner violence (IPV) cases. Specifically, it covers assessment methods, evaluator selection, evaluator education, guidelines, differential assessment, and state policies. Special attention is given to new methods of bias reduction, the need to focus on coercive and controlling abuse, and the need to interpret psychological tests within a trauma framework. Recommendations are made in each area reviewed. KEYWORDS bias reduction, assessment methods, domestic violence, custody evaluator education, evidence-based, family court Recommendations for custody and visitation in cases involving intimate partner violence (IPV) need to be developed with extreme care. Victims and their children risk serious harm if sole or joint custody is awarded to a violent parent, or if that parent is not awarded custody but has poorly supervised visits

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of Resist/Refuse Dynamics: Confirmatory Bias and Abductive Inference in Child Custody Evaluations

“…A child's resistance/refusal of contact with a parent who is known to be relatively insensitive and unresponsive to their needs (“… from mild insensitivities to outright emotional abuse…” [Friedlander & Walters, , p. 106]) is known as realistic rejection or estrangement. This includes the child's incidental or vicarious experience of mutual partner violence (Saunders, ; Saunders, Faller, & Tolman, ). Evaluators are strongly advised to proceed with relevant guidelines in mind (Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, ) and consistent with relevant decision trees (e.g., Drozd & Olesen, ). Is Parent A needlessly undermining the child's relationship with Parent B?…”

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

“…Determining IPV in custody evaluation is a challenging task, and even specialists often fail to detect it [18,19]. Victims tend to maintain silence when asked about IPV lest the report of IPV should work against them or because their attorney or mediator advised them not to report [20][21][22]. The evaluator needs to be aware of such limitations and complexities during the screening process [23].…”

“…For example, "I don't know if this is (or ever has been) a problem for you, but many of the clients I see are dealing with abusive relationships. Some are too afraid or uncomfortable to bring it up themselves, so I've started asking about it routinely" [22].…”

“…The victim's emotional-behavioral reactions such as dependent behavior, emotional instability, and suicide attempt need to be interpreted in the context of depression and anxiety reactions caused by the trauma of domestic violence. If the evaluator is not sufficiently trained in this area, care should be taken not to misunderstand behaviors that are manifested under the influence of the trauma event as histrionic or borderline personality instead of posttraumatic stress symptoms [2,22,24].…”

“…Suspicion of sexual abuse or neglect is common in PAS, which must be investigated [2,4,22,32]. Unlike children with experience of physical or sexual abuse, who seldom dare to tell their secret stories, PAS children willingly denigrate the target parent.…”