An Overview On Psychological Testing Child Custody

By Patrick Foster


When two parents decide they cannot take care of their children together, chances are disputes will arise on who should be left with them. As such, the intervention of a court of law is important in solving cases alike. Among many pieces of evidence used to ascertain the same, psychological testing child custody is paramount. Some factors that encourage legal advisers to carry out emotional assessment are claims of juvenile abuse, drug addicted parents, uncouth parenting manners as well as the presence of cognitive illnesses in family history. Notably, there are countless factors to help identify mental capacity which sometimes may be impossible to perform. These among many other reasons contribute to some of the disadvantages of these approaches. Discussed below are a few of them.

The identification of which parent to take charge of kids involves various activities. First is the assessment of mental health through a series of interviews. Here, specialists ask individuals a number of questions. However, procedures, questions as well as the design of the interview are not scientifically universal. Therefore, each specialist has their own set of queries and guidelines covering an interview session.

As a result, different specialists administer interviews in their own manner. For this reason, one cannot gauge the quality of an examination. Questions asked cannot be considered comprehensive or not which means they do not reflect the skill level of assessors. As a result, legal advisers may make wrong conclusions in the litigation process.

The next stage of evaluation is medical screening. Individuals are tested of different health conditions such as Rorschach inkblot just to mention a few. Like interviews, there are no scientifically defined tools to carry out these procedures. Therefore, each specialist may decide to use machines of their choice.

For instance, one psychologist can decide to carry out a different procedure while another may adopt a different technique. While there are few tests considered a must in various countries, erroneous information gathered by specialists may promote unsound judgment.

After screening and interviewing, experts explain results as well as recommendations. Since techniques of gathering information vary depending on specialists, results are also inconsistent. Markedly, conclusions made from results of tests performed during a certain time may be wrong. This is because behaviors change with time. A certain mental state could be contributed by specific factors existing at the time. Therefore assuming an individual will behave alike at all times is unfair.

In a court of law, results are evaluated by people who may not be experts. Depending on who such an expert is representing, it is possible to interpret results to favor their clients. Such an interpretation can also differ from one assessor to another. Interviewers can lean on a particular side too when examining.

The process is erroneous starting from point one. What it means is that judgment given using such evidence is also corrupt. To curb such an eventuality, juries should consider the above limitations before giving a ruling. They should not entirely depend on such evidence hence consider other sources of facts. This way, children rights will be upheld in the right way.




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