Conceptual and Empirical Issues in Child Custody Evaluations William O’Donohue and April R. Bradley University of Nevada-Reno Mental health professionals evaluate families involved in custody disputes in order to provide information and make placement or visitation recommendations. This artide explores the value, theoretical, empirical, and measurement issues in child custody evaluations. We conclude that (1) value issues need to be explicated, (2) theories need to be developed zyxwvut so that relevant vari- ables are specmod and their relationships to outcome states are hypothesized, (3) further longitudinal re- search on the adjustment process of divorce needs to be conducted, and (4) valid assessment strategies need to be developed to assess relevant constructs. Given the state of knowledge in each of these problem areas, we argue that cumently mental health professionals may have little accurate Information zyxwvuts or warranted rec- ommendations to &r. Key words: divorce, custody, evaluation, testing, child. [Clin Psychoi Sci Prac 6:370-322, 79991 zyxwvut Divorce rates have skyrocketed over the last twenty years. Statistics suggest that, in 1977, one-third of all marriages ended in divorce (Lyman zyxwvutsr & Roberts, 1985). Currently the dlvorce rate has increased to over one don divorces each year, with the majority of these involving children under the age of eighteen (National Center for Health Statistics of the United States, 1995). However, Foster (1984), Melton, Petrila, Poythress, and Slobogin (1987), and Saunders (1990) estimate that currently only 10% of Address correspondence to William O’Donohue, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Univexsity of Nevada-Reno, Mail Stop zyxwvutsrqp 298, Reno, zyxwvuts NV 89557. Electronic mail may be sent to wto@equinox.unr.edu. divorces involving children will use the court system to determine placement. In a survey study of Virginiajudges conducted by Melton, Weithron, and Slobogin (1985, as cited in Otto & Collins, 1995). the judges estimated that expert psychological testimony was heard less than 25% of the time. Furthermore, some states, such as Cali- fornia, have legislated mandated mediation, which does not involve expert testimony (Mason, 1994). However, Depner, Cannata, and Simon (1992) found that 30% of mediated custody cases in California resulted in an adver- sarial hearing process. Although estimates M e r , it is ap- parent that a significant percentage of divorces will require the court to make a child custody decision, although exactly how many is difficult to determine. In making placement decisions the court must restructure parental rights and responsibilities, including the relative decision- malung authority and physical contact each parent will have with the child. Although mental health professionals may be involved in only a minority of the total cases of divorce involving children, some research suggests that this trend is increas- ing. Mason (1994) states that 10% of cases on appeal in 1960 used mental health professionals whde approxi- mately 33% of these cases in 1990 did so. Furthermore, Ash and Guyer (1986) state that, while only 1 1% of their sample used judges to make placement decisions, expert recommendations &om mental health professionals were used as “bargaining chips” in 71% of the cases, indicating a substantial use of expert recommendations. Therefore, while expert testimony may be uncommon, the use of mental health professional services during the divorce process may be substantial. Divorce is not the only legal problem that raises child custody or visitation issues. Death of child guardians, as well as child neglect and abuse (or allegations of these), 0 1 9 9 9 AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION D12 310