ASSESSING CREDIBILITY IN ALLEGATIONS OF MARITAL VIOLENCE IN THE HIGHCONFLICT CHILD CUSTODY CASE

Forensic psychology has not systematically examined the problem of evaluating the credibility of allegations of marital violence within the context of a child custody case. The importance of this issue stems from the negative effect of family violence on children, the implications for parenting effectiveness, and consideration of the feasibility of joint custody. When marital violence has not been previously disclosed or objectively documented by prosecution, there is a need to examine the credibility of the allegations because of the strategic incentive for both sides to distort historical events. A six‐factor model is presented to assist the child custody evaluator and judicial decision maker in this task. A risk assessment approach to marital violence in the custody evaluation context is presented. The need to examine the empirical basis of marital violence allegations in custody litigation should not discourage victims from raising the issue and does not diminish the seriousness of family maltreatment as a social problem.