Should Forensic Psychologists Make Custody Recommendations?

Ethical Concerns

The ethical principles guiding the practice of psychology constrain psychologists to use assessment techniques, including interviews and tests, in a manner and for purposes that are appropriate in light of the research on, or evidence for the usefulness and proper application of the particular technique (APA, 2003). The capacity for psychological tests to assess certain aspects of individual and family functioning validly and reliably is well established and, in certain areas, rivals the accuracy of medical tests (Meyer, Finn, Eyde, Kay, Moreland, Dies, Eisman, & Reed, 2001). However, given the lack of evidence suggesting that the tests and interviews used by forensic psychologists actually predict positive or negative functioning for different custodial arrangements, it can be argued that making custody recommendations on the basis of such techniques could be considered unethical. Psychologists are also directed by the APA to recognize the limitations in their capacity to make clinical judgments or predictions and to indicate these limitations to the consumers of their reports. Following this guideline, one could argue that any custody report that contains an explicit custody recommendation should also include an explicit statement about the paucity, or, as some would say, the complete lack of validity, of data regarding such recommendations.