Explain some of the different forensic assessments used in custody reports and their respective purposes.

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The Answer is Answers will vary but should include some of the following from the text: Parenting Stress Index (PS)-given to parent: evaluates problems and magnitude of stress in the parent-child relationship; focuses on the three domains of stress: child characteristics, parent characteristics, and situational or demographic characteristics. Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI)-given to parent: designed to detect physical child abuse; developed for use by protective service workers in their investigations of reported child abuse cases; used to aid in differentiating abusers from nonabusers. Bricklin Perceptual Scales (BPS)-given to child: assesses their unconscious perceptions of parents' behavior, including competence, follow-up consistency, supportiveness, and possession of admirable personality traits. Ackerman-Schoendorf Scales for Parent Evaluation of Custody (ASPECT)-given to parent and child: a multiple-component measure that incorporates data from several established tests of both adults and children, including (1) the MMPI-2, (2) the Rorschach inkblot test, (3) an intelligence test, (4) a projective story and a series of parent questionnaires; purpose is to aid evaluators in detecting negative indicators such as parental drug abuse and physical or sexual abuse, and positive indicators, such as involvement with the child and good social judgment.
It could also be noted that these measures are primarily designed to assist psychological professionals in structuring assessments, not making recommendations per se. To date, scientific evaluation of the reliability and validity of these tools is limited although there is some evidence to support the use of the BPS and ASPECT in forensic evaluations.

Explain Some of the Different Forensic Assessments Used in Custody