NCJ Number
187136
Date Published
2001
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Although divorce rates in the United States appear to be on the decline, the legal process of divorce and the psychological, social, and economic problems associated with it still represent a common experience for many children and estimates indicate over 40 percent of all children will be confronted with and will have to adjust to the legal divorce of their parents.
Abstract
Contrary to public perceptions, a relatively small percentage of these children will have the structure of their future custodial relationship with their parents resolved through adversarial litigation in the court system. While contested child custody disputes are thought to have the greatest negative psychological impact on the children involved, it is widely believed the process of divorce itself is likely to generate substantial, long-term, negative psychological effects in children. In order to ameliorate at least some of the problems experienced by children of divorced parents and to maximize these children's potential to lead a successful life, courts have constructed and adopted the best interest of the child standard (BICS) to legally determine the custodial placement of children involved in divorce proceedings. The authors look at competing interests in fashioning a child custody standard, the history of child custody standards, legal criticisms of the BICS, and empirical research and criticisms related to child custody standards. They also pay particular attention to the role of mental health professionals in child custody disputes and identify methodological problems and empirical research needs related to child custody. 84 references and 39 endnotes