PARENTAL ALIENATION AND THE DYNAMICS OF THE ENMESHED PARENT–CHILD DYAD: ADULTIFICATION,PARENTIFICATION, AND INFANTILIZATION

When caregivers conflict, systemic alliances shift and healthy parent‐child roles can be corrupted. The present paper describes three forms of role corruption which can occur within the enmeshed dyad and as the common complement of alienation and estrangement. These include the child who is prematurely promoted to serve as a parent's ally and partner, the child who is inducted into service as the parent's caregiver, and the child whose development is inhibited by a parent who needs to be needed. These dynamics—adultification, parentification and infantilization, respectively—are each illustrated with brief case material. Family law professionals and clinicians alike are encouraged to conceptualize these dynamics as they occur within an imbalanced family system and thereby to craft interventions which intend to re‐establish healthy roles. Some such interventions are reviewed and presented as one part of the constellation of services necessary for the triangulated child.     

THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE IN CONTEXT: EXPLORING THE MODERATING ROLES OF NEIGHBORHOOD DISADVANTAGE AND CULTURAL NORMS

Although the cycle of violence theory has received empirical support (Widom, 1989a, 1989b), in reality, not all victims of child physical abuse become involved in violence. Therefore, little is known regarding factors that may moderate the relationship between abuse and subsequent violence, particularly contextual circumstances. The current investigation used longitudinal data from 1,372 youth living in 79 neighborhoods who participated in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), and it employed a multivariate, multilevel Rasch model to explore the degree to which neighborhood disadvantage and cultural norms attenuate or strengthen the abuse–violence relationship. The results indicate that the effect of child physical abuse on violence was weaker in more disadvantaged communities. Neighborhood cultural norms regarding tolerance for youth delinquency and fighting among family and friends did not moderate the child abuse–violence relationship, but each had a direct effect on violence, such that residence in neighborhoods more tolerant of delinquency and fighting increased the propensity for violence. These results suggest that the cycle of violence may be contextualized by neighborhood structural and cultural conditions.     

HIGH‐CONFLICT CONTACT DISPUTES: EVIDENCE OF THE EXTREME UNRELIABILITY OF SOME CHILDREN'S ASCERTAINABLE WISHES AND FEELINGS

This article challenges an increasing orthodoxy regarding the weight which courts might place upon the expressed views of children in a specific situation—high‐conflict contact disputes. I am a child psychiatrist who acts as an expert witness within the family courts of England & Wales. I have conducted a statistical analysis of cases in which I have conducted assessments of children caught in such disputes between their separated parents. Fifty‐eight children met the criteria for inclusion in the study—the child's consistent opposition to contact with the non resident parent (NRP), despite the court having determined that there was no good reason to constrain contact. My assessment routinely included attempted observation of the child at a visit with the NRP. Despite their stated views most children had a positive experience in those visits that took place, and despite the fact that most had not seen the NRP for a long time. Overall there was a statistical association between increased resistance to contact and the greater age of the child and the longer the time during which no contact had occurred. However, the responses of children and young people were unpredictable and it was impossible to conclude that apparent maturity or intelligence was a guide to the reliability of their expressed resistance. The possible reasons for this unreliability are discussed. I emphasize that my sample of children is unusual as many of the cases had involved serious, though unfounded, allegations of abuse. In addition most of the children showed indications of having become “alienated” from the NRP. I conclude that courts might exercise caution when evaluating the views of children and young people in this situation, and emphasises that assessors should consider including at least one observation of the child at a prolonged visit to the NRP. Because of the new orthodoxy some parents may be tempted to misuse their child's right to a “voice” in court in order to achieve their own ends. Practitioners who advise courts may need to be more aware of these difficulties.     

CHILDREN OF SAME‐SEX PARENTS DESERVE THE SECURITY BLANKET OF THE PARENTAGE PRESUMPTION*

This article considers what rights are important to children of same‐sex couples, and concludes that these children must be protected by the presumption of parentage. In reaching this conclusion, the article first analyzes the limited protections currently provided to children of same‐sex couples. It then concludes that there is no persuasive reason to treat these children differently from children of “traditional” heterosexual marriage. As such, the parentage presumption should apply equally to children born of a same‐sex marriage, domestic partnership, or civil union, as well as to children who live with a same‐sex partner in a parent‐child relationship. Only with such broad protection can these children receive the economic and psychological support that they deserve.     

INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS: INSTITUTING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS IN THE ADOPTION PROCESS TO FACILITATE AWARENESS OF CULTURAL IDENTITY ISSUES

In 1995, China first claimed the designation as the number one location for parents from the United States seeking to adopt children. The children, for the most part girls, are between 6 and 20 months old, when they are adopted. Most of the girls that were adopted in 1995 are now entering into their preteen years, and if they have not already confronted the issue of who they are, they will soon be forced to. Adoption is a complicated and emotional process that affects the entire family. Traditionally, parents who adopt have been able to consciously choose when and how they will first tell their child that they are adopted. However, when the adopted child is a member of a transracial family, where the parents and adoptive child are obviously of a different race, this decision can sometimes be taken out of their hands by a stranger thoughtlessly asking, “Is she yours?” The parents who choose to adopt from a foreign country should be prepared to answer this question and numerous others before they bring their adopted child home. This note will explore the concept of incorporating educational programs into the intercountry adoption process as an effective method of educating prospective parents on the challenges that transracial families will confront.     

LIFE AFTER DEATH: THE NEED TO ADDRESS THE LEGAL STATUS OF POSTHUMOUSLY CONCEIVED CHILDREN

The advance of reproductive technology, coupled with a legal system that cannot keep up, has had a detrimental effect on posthumously conceived children. There is controversy over whether a child conceived after the death of one parent, by way of reproductive technology, is considered a child of that parent for inheritance purposes. An overwhelming majority of state legislatures have not given consideration to the unique question that posthumously conceived children pose. Legislative inaction has forced state courts to apply antiquated laws in the midst of a technological revolution. The result: children are being denied inheritance rights to their deceased parent's estate solely because of the way they were conceived. This Note advocates that all children should be given the same rights and benefits regardless of how they are conceived. To accomplish that goal, this Note proposes a model state statute to be adopted in all states. The model statute deems a posthumously conceived child to be the child of his or her deceased parent, and thus entitled to inheritance rights, if 1) the posthumously conceived child was provided for by will, or 2) the deceased parent intended to be a parent; there is a genetic relationship between parent and child; the child is born within three years from the death of his or her deceased parent; and the child's best interest, balanced against the state's interests, exceeds the state's interest. The desired effect of the statute is to put posthumously conceived children on equal footing with naturally conceived children.     

UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF THE MEDIATOR IN CHILD PROTECTION PROCEEDINGS

Mediators in child protection proceedings have a distinctive role. The cases present complex and emotion-laden issues. Mediators must go beyond their established role as a third-party neutral and ensure that the process neither adds to the trauma a child and family have already experienced nor jeopardizes the safety of the child.     

THE ELUSIVE PURSUIT OF SOLOMON: FALTERING STEPS TOWARD THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

This article provides a brief critique of presumptions about parenting and children seen through the lens of family law. It argues that, historically, decisions largely followed gender‐based and/or moral presumptions of the day and that sometimes these were in tension with each other. Sometimes, too, as in the biblical story of Solomon's judgment, biological parenthood was contested and/or gender did not provide a ready answer. The article argues that, as children's rights and the best interests of the child increasingly came to dominate the decision‐making rhetoric, a Solomon‐like belief has nonetheless persisted, that judicial ingenuity and sophisticated investigative resources can determine the underlying truth of a dispute and lead to the correct outcome. The evidence, however, points in the direction of significant predictive limitations to the legal, social, and psychological knowledge bases supporting most postseparation parenting decisions. It is argued that what is needed is a formal shift in emphasis from a somewhat idealized commitment to discovering the truth in most contested cases to a focus on good decision‐making processes. It is suggested that most transitional families are best served by an emphasis on good, respectful processes associated with good‐enough decisions that formally acknowledge the limitations of our capacity to predict. Good processes and good‐enough decisions are in turn best supported by a clear emphasis on children as individual agents, who, though dependent on adults, are entitled to the full panoply of human rights.     

THE FAMILIAL TRANSMISSION OF CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS*

This article examines the familial transmission of criminal convictions in families in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. Our main analyses focus on the 344 families in the Cambridge Study with two or more children. Criminal convictions were highly familial because convictions in a parent increased the risk of convictions in a child. Correlations between siblings were stronger in same-sex siblings (.45 to .50) than in opposite-sex ones (.27). Sibling correlations did not vary by birth order. Convictions of mothers and father correlated .55. Parent-child correlations were about the same as within-generation correlations between siblings. LISREL models were used to assess whether the effect of parental convictions on child convictions was direct or mediated through the quality of the family environment (i.e., supervision. child rearing, and family size). The best fitting LISREL models suggested a direct effect of parental convictions on child convictions, without any mediation by family environment. These data on fill biological siblings, however, did not permit separate estimation of family environmental versus genetic effects. One environmental effect appeared, however—a socialization effect among siblings; in families with three sons, there appeared to be mutual influence of one sibling on another. Also, regression models based on the boys suggested that family environmental variables did add to parental criminality.     

CHILD SUPPORT IN THE UNITED STATES

This article reports on the results of a telephone survey conducted with a random sample of households screened for eligibility to receive child support in the state of Colorado. Despite the recent enactment of ambitious child legislation at the state and federal levels, the accounts of 731 custodial parents reveal a massive level of unmet need, with child support problems being most extreme for those never married to the chilďs other parent. These mothers typically lack an order establishing a legal obligation to pay child support and have incomes that fall below the poverty level. Overall, women of Colorado with child support orders received only about half of the support they were due, and 73 per cent of all women due support reported that they had experienced problems in collecting support either currently or in the past. The average amount of back due child support owed to the 60 per cent of women in the sample who reported an arrearage was $12,000. Analysis revealed that payment behaviour tracked with the length of time since separation with payment patterns worsening over time and irregular visitation and/or the presence of problems around child access. Female obligors exhibited the same payment patterns as their male counterparts but were more apt to maintain visitation. The article documents the dramatic, negative economic consequences of irregular or missing child support payments for custodial parents, and discusses the additional legal and financial commitments needed to improve the situation. The efficacy of private child support transfers to achieve an adequate standard of living for all children is called into question.     

THE IMPACT OF CONTINUING EDUCATION TRAINING ON LAW GUARDIAN KNOWLEDGE,EFFICACY, AND PRACTICE BEHAVIORS

There is an increased demand for law guardians in domestic violence cases, especially those involving child witnesses. Training is required for law guardians to meet child clients’ needs. While workshops and conferences are typical venues for continuing education training, their effectiveness is unknown. This pilot study compared law guardians who attended a conference on community violence and children to nonattendees on several training outcomes. Results showed a positive impact on attendees’ feelings of efficacy and intentions to carry out new practice behaviors post‐conference; differences were maintained at follow‐up. Limitations and implications of this pilot study are discussed.     

PARTICIPANTS’ EVALUATIONS OF ASPECTS OF THE LEGAL CHILD CUSTODY PROCESS AND PREFERENCES FOR COURT SERVICES

Domestic relations courts continue to experience large caseloads. As the volume of cases in which families are in crisis continues to grow, policy makers, practitioners, judges, and attorneys struggle to meet the growing demand and seek more effective ways to address the needs and issues of those who are engaged in child custody processes. The present study provides an examination of parent attitudes concerning various aspects of the legal process and preferences concerning a variety of court‐based family services and interventions.     

CRITIQUE OF CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS BY THE LEGAL PROFESSION

This study explored the congruency between child custody evaluations and the needs of the legal profession. One hundred twenty-one judges and attorneys were surveyed. In general, both groups expressed similar attitudes and beliefs. Findings indicated that court-ordered evaluations were most useful, and objectivity was paramount. Judges and attorneys also expressed a need for improvements in child custody reports, particularly greater child focus, provision of custody and visitation recommendations, discussion of legal criteria, and timely completion of evaluations. It is hoped that the findings will inform professional practice and help evaluators better serve the needs of the family court.     

THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD

Despite heavy use of the concept of the "best interests" of the child, there is little consensus about what criteria constitute a child's best interests or how these criteria should be applied. This article explores some of the problems of the best interest concept, from the developmental and psychological perspective, and suggests that the concept is a worthwhile one if decision makers are able to go beyond cliches and superficial definitions.     

IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF CHILDREN

In the traditional family law and child protection litigation where the court is asked to make determinations based on the best interests of a minor, the adversarial, rights-based model often fails to serve the interests of children and families and may be more harmful than beneficial to children relative to other possible methods of dispute resolution. This article examines the shortcomings of such an adversarial, rights-based model; briefly highlights the literature on dispute resolution systems design; and then proposes a new approach to better serve the interests of children in family law and child protection cases.     

NIPPING IT IN THE BUD®: ADOPTING A FAMILY DRUG COURT APPROACH TO FIGHTING THE CYCLE OF ALCOHOL ADDICTION FOR CHILDREN WHEN PARENTS ARE CONVICTED OF DUI

Many states have implemented Drug Courts in recent years by combining drug and alcohol treatment with ongoing judicial supervision. Through the use of incentives such as reduced and dismissed charges and fines combined with supervised treatment, Drug Courts have been shown to be very effective in helping to break the cycle of addiction, crime, and repeat incarceration for those involved. However, these courts do little to address situations in which the addict is the custodial parent of a minor child, who is exponentially more at‐risk for future alcohol addiction simply by being the child of an alcoholic, due to both environmental and biological factors. Thus, while the parent's addiction is theoretically being addressed by the courts, little is being done, absent a showing of abuse or neglect, by the judicial system to combat the seeds of addiction that have already been planted in these children. Therefore, this Note advocates for states to include an alcohol education and counseling program aimed at children of alcohol‐related offenders based on the Drug Court Model. Participation in this program would then act as a mitigating factor for the addicted offender when receiving their final sentence. This proposed program would then serve as a model for other states to adopt in the near future.     

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF BARGAINING FOR ADOPTION ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS

Families that adopt children who are in foster care may receive monthly adoption assistance payments to offset the cost of raising the adopted child. The amount of the adoption assistance payment is the subject of bargaining between the family and the child welfare authority. This article uses a bargaining model to highlight factors that, in addition to the expected costs of raising the child, might influence the outcome of bargaining over adoption assistance payments. Findings indicate that married parents who adopt children already in their care have an advantage in bargaining, and single women who adopt their kin or foster children have a disadvantage in bargaining.     

Injuring potential of drinking glasses

At a party of a sports club, an argument started between two groups of young men, in the course of which one of the persons involved threw a beer glass hitting a young man of the other group, who collapsed with a profusely bleeding wound. Although resuscitation measures were initiated immediately, the victim died at the scene due to exsanguination from the completely severed left external carotid artery in combination with the aspiration of blood. Tests with drinking glasses thrown at a skull-neck model suggested that an undamaged beer glass thrown at the head of the victim could not cause the fatal injuries on the neck because of its splintering behaviour. In fact, it seemed that the beer glass had been damaged prior to throwing it and that its sharp edges perforated the skin on hitting the neck.     

THE CHILDREN ACT 1989 AND THE VOICE OF THE CHILD IN FAMILY CONCILIATION

Over the past 10 years, there has been a rapid development of conciliation throughout Great Britain in matters relating to divorce and separation. The growth has been in terms of the accessibility of services as well as in the styles of conciliation practice offered. Throughout this period, the question of the involvement of children in conciliation has persisted as a key issue. Should children be involved at all, and if so, how should this involvement best be brought about? This article suggests that the change of philosophy regarding child law intended by the new Children Act 1989 will give considerable impetus to this debate and should lead to a clarification of the role of conciliation in allowing the voice of the child to be heard following divorce or separation.     

LAWYERS AND MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WORKING TOGETHER: RECONCILING THE DUTIES OF CONFIDENTIALITY AND MANDATORY CHILD ABUSE REPORTING

Lawyers are increasingly finding themselves working in conjunction with a social worker and/or a psychologist. This dynamic can be found in organizations that take a multi‐disciplinary approach to the law, such as New York City's Legal Aid Society and Lawyers for Children. Collaborative law is another such example. Collaborative law is an increasing trend in family law; it provides a divorcing couple the opportunity to work with professionals from different disciplines, without being subject to the court system. While a multi‐disciplinary approach to the law has the ability to maximize the value of representation, it also can create tension when inconsistent duties are imposed by conflicting professional obligations. A major area of conflict is between the lawyer's duty to maintain client confidences and the mental health professional's duty to report child abuse. This Note discusses the important policies behind these opposing duties. The Note recommends amending state child abuse and neglect laws in order to eliminate the conflict between the professions' duties and allow lawyers and mental health professionals to work together more harmoniously. Amending state child abuse and neglect laws will allow for mental health professionals working with a lawyer who represents a client the same reporting duties as lawyers in the process.