Legal Psychological Assessment in Custody Processes in Brazil: Professional Practices

Dantas, Tayora; Saavedra, Luísa; Martins, Paula Cristina

doi:10.1590/0102.3772e39409.en

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Clinical Psychology and Culture • Psic.: Teor. e Pesq. 39 • 2023 • https://doi.org/10.1590/0102.3772e39409.en copy

Legal Psychological Assessment in Custody Processes in Brazil: Professional Practices^* * This article was based on the first author’s Master’s Dissertation.

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This research aimed to understand the structuring of psychological assessments in custody actions and, on the other hand, to identify the existence of homogeneity or heterogeneity in these practices. Twenty-nine Brazilian legal psychologists participated in this study and answered an online questionnaire built based on the literature. The analysis of the results was carried out through deductive and semantic Thematic Analysis, whose previous categories were created based on national and international guidelines. The most salient results indicate some divergences from the literature, but that its actions and dimensions are compatible with those found in the literature. Based on these results, a guide of systematized practices is proposed, aiming to promote greater uniformity in parental assessment.

Keywords:
forensic psychological assessment; psychological guidelines; shared custody; methods; parental responsibilities

Agulhas and Anciães (2015Agulhas, R., & Anciães, A. (2015). Casos práticos em psicologia forense: Enquadramento legal e avaliação pericial [Practical cases in forensic psychology: Legal framework and expert evaluation]. Edições Sílabo. )	Pereira and Matos (2011Pereira, A., & Matos, M. (2011). Avaliação psicológica das responsabilidades parentais nos casos de separação e divórcio [Psychological assessment of parental responsibilities in cases of separation and divorce]. In M. Matos, R. A. Gonçalves, & C. Machado (Coord.), Manual de Psicologia Forense: Contextos práticos e desafios (pp. 311-347). Psiquilíbrios. )	COP (2009Colégio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid. (2009). Guía de buenas práticas para la elaboración de informes psicológicos periciales sobre custódia e regimen de visitas de menores [Guide to good practices for preparing expert psychological reports on custody and visitation of minor]. Colégio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid. )
1 - Preparation: study and analysis of the procedural pieces, the definition of interveners, and methodology;	1 - Consultation of procedural data;	1 - Demand analysis;
2 - Individual interviews with the parents;	2 - Informed consent;	2 - Study and analysis of the process;
3 - Joint interviews with the parents: observation of inter-parental interaction, confronting different versions;	3- Semi-structured individual and/or joint interviews with the parents;	3 - Convocation of the people who will be evaluated and collaboration agreement;
4 - Observation of frat interaction: interaction patterns and affective bonds;	4 - Interviews with children: parental discipline, perception of parental conflict, interests, and preferences;	4 - Hypothesis formulation and research project: techniques and tests to apply;
5 - Individual interviews with the minors;	5 - Psychological tests: for adults, children, and adolescents, and specific symptoms;	5 - Psychological evaluation of the people who desire custody;
6 - Collateral information: formal and informal network;	6 - Observation of the interaction between parents and children and between siblings;	6 - Communication with other professionals in contact with the child and family;
7 - Observation of relational dynamics: parent-child interaction;	7 - Collateral information collection: family members, school, and other professionals involved.	7 - Integration of results, reformulation of hypotheses;
8 - Drawing up the report and issuing the opinion: systematization and analysis of the information.		8 - Elaboration of the psychological document about the child and his/her family/context;
		9 - Expert opinion on the child’s best interest;
		10 - Presentation of the document to the judge;
		11 - Ratification or appearance at trial, if necessary;
		12 - Follow-up, if applicable.

Steps	Incidence
Procedural Analysis	Procedural Records.
Planning	Definition of the reference question.
	How? Interviews (type and questions), observations, instruments (selection), visits.
	For whom? Parents, children, guardians, collateral sources, and others.
	Where? Forum, home, institutional facilities.
Implementation	Conducting the interviews (informed consent form).
	Conducting the observations.
	Application of the instruments.
	Conducting home and institutional visits.
Review	Did the procedures answer the reference question and the questions?
	Identification of other collateral sources of information for triangulation.
	Verification of the need for new procedures.
Elaboration of the psychological report	Observation of the document structure according to the regulatory body.

Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade de Brasília Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade de Brasília, 70910-900 - Brasília - DF - Brazil, Tel./Fax: (061) 274-6455 - Brasília - DF - Brazil
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Legal Psychological Assessment in Custody Processes in Brazil: Professional Practices* * This article was based on the first author’s Master’s Dissertation.

Legal Psychological Assessment in Custody Processes in Brazil: Professional Practices^* * This article was based on the first author’s Master’s Dissertation.