Psychological Evaluation of the Child's Best Interests: The Interpretation of Data in the Preparation of Child Welfare Reports in the New Zealand Family Court

Authors: John M. Fitzgerald¹; Natasha Moltzen²

Source: Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, Volume 11, Number 2, December 2004 , pp. 214-225(12)

Publisher: Australian Academic Press

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Abstract:

Section 29a of the New Zealand Guardianship Act (1968) makes provision for a judge in the New Zealand Family Court to commission a specialist psychological report when considering the 'best interests' of a child. The purpose of such a report is to obtain expert opinion on a child's current psychological, emotional and social functioning, and to consider the likely psychological implications of various custody and access options. Research within New Zealand and internationally has demonstrated the variability in the content of custody evaluations completed by psychologists, and the extent to which psychological information has an impact on decision-making within the family court system. This article reports data from a survey of psychologists who writes. 29a reports. The focus of the survey was on collecting data that could be compared with those collected by Moltzen (1993) so that changing trends could be observed and, more generally, to gain insight into case characteristics that influence case formulation and recommendations, where these are made.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1375/1321871042707313

Affiliations: 1: The Psychology Centre, Hamilton, New Zealand 2: Private Practice, Hamilton, New Zealand

Publication date: 2004-12-01

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