What constitutes a high-quality child custody evaluation? A qualitative analysis

Abstract

Eleven highly experienced Australian professionals (psychologists, family lawyers, and judges) were interviewed regarding Single Expert Reports (also known as a Child Custody Evaluation CCE) written by psychologists. A semi-structured interview explored their opinion about the role of and weight afforded to the CCE; the value of psychologists as Single Experts (evaluators), what makes a CCE helpful or unhelpful where there are allegations of mental illness, alienation, family violence and sexual abuse; the inclusion of formal risk assessments in reports; and how psychologists could improve the quality of CCEs. Thematic Analysis was used to capture emergent themes from the data. Four major themes were identified. The first three themes explain what components make for a high-quality report: (1) Thoroughness, (2) Transparency and (3) a Pathway Forward. The fourth theme was informed by the first three themes, in that if the above components were done to a high standard, the overall CCE could be given more weight, and be of greater (4) Assistance to the Court. Findings add depth to previous survey data, confirm the essential components of a CCE that make it helpful in family law proceedings, and provide clarification about how psychologists can improve the quality and consistency of CCEs.

Keywords:

• CCEs
• interviews
• judges
• lawyers
• psychologists
• quality

Disclosure of interest

Alison T. O’Neill, Kay Bussey, Christopher J. Lennings and Katie M. Seidler declare that they have no conflicts to report.

Ethical standards and informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee (No. 5201812971670). Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study.

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by a grant from the NSW Psychology Council to Christopher J. Lennings, Katie M. Seidler and Alison T. O’Neill at LSC Psychology.

Notes on contributors

Alison T. O’Neill

Alison T. O’Neill, PhD candidate, M.Psych (Clin), B.A. (Hons), is a clinical psychologist and director of LSC Psychology. Her core practice is dedicated to writing expert reports in family law proceedings.

Kay Bussey

Kay Bussey, Ph.D. B.Econ (Hons) researchers and lectures on Child and Adolescent Psychology. She is an Associate Professor in the Center for Emotional Health within the Department of Psychology at Macquarie University.

Christopher J. Lennings

Christopher J. Lennings, PhD., is a forensic and clinical psychologist in private practice.

Katie M. Seidler

Katie M. Seidler, PhD., M, Psych (Clin), B.A. (Hons) is a clinical and forensic psychologist and director of LSC Psychology. She is involved in academic research and teaching at several universities in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.