Exam 13: Child Custody Disputes

Esther is a psychologist who has been working for the past year as a therapist with one of the parents currently going through a bitter divorce. She would be ethically required to abstain from conducting a custody evaluation on behalf of the court in this case because:

A serious criticism of most currently used projective tests is that they:

Ingrid's parents have always made decisions together when it came to any important aspects of Ingrid's life, for example about the type of preschool she would attend and how involved her religious education should be. In case of a divorce, the approximation rule would dictate that the court should award:

The main purpose of mandatory mediation laws is to:

Which custody arrangement is most common?

A process alternative to litigation is mandatory in many states for couples seeking divorce. A neutral third party who approaches the parents together in a non-adversarial manner is called a:

The scientific validity and reliability of forensic assessment instruments as used for determining the best custody arrangement has been _____. At the same time, their use by child custody evaluators has _____ over recent years.

Under the tender years doctrine, unless there were extenuating circumstances, _____ were placed in the custody of the mother.

With regard to mediation in child custody cases, which one of the following statements is NOT true?

Those states where the primary caretaker rule is preferred in custody decisions, are most likely to award:

Kathryn's parents recently got divorced. During the hearing for custody, it was determined that her mother would have legal and physical custody. This type of custody is known as:

Fathers' groups have protested the approximation rule because it increases the likelihood of _____. Instead, fathers' advocacy groups have proposed a(n) _____.

There are several tests commonly used by psychologists in child custody evaluations. Research studies show that:

Research has demonstrated that _____ is more likely to influence decision making in custody cases when the guidelines for custody are _____.

The case of Painter v. Bannister (1966) illustrates:

Research that follows subjects and collects data over a longer period of time is referred to as:

In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court hold that "custody decisions cannot turn on racial considerations"?

A majority of children whose parents divorce:

Child custody issues may require the expertise of a psychologist to assist the court in deciding the fate of a child after the parents' divorce. _____ refers to how much time a child spends with each of the parents.

According to the text, data on custody arrangements reveal that sole physical and legal custody is granted to the mother approximately _____ of the time.