Forensic Psychological Expert Assessment Conflict of Loyalties of the Child in Court Disputes between Parents about his Upbringing

In order to clarify the content and expert value of the child’s "loyalty conflict" as one of the key concepts in the forensic psychological expert study of family relationships, the phenomenon of child loyalty is considered within the framework of an activity approach. The qualitative and dynamic characteristics of the transformation of family loyalty at different stages of conflict, parental divorce and legal dispute over the upbringing of a child are analyzed. The following types and stages of the formation of a negative attitude towards one of the parents are highlighted: differentiation of loyalties, instability of loyalties, parallel loyalties, dominant loyalty, no alternative loyalty, induced loyalty. The manifestations of the conflict of loyalties are generalized and systematized, its adaptive potential and destructive influence on the psychological state and mental development of the child are revealed. The methodology of using the phenomenon under study in the production of forensic examination in disputes between parents about the child’s place of residence or the order of meetings of a separate parent with a child is proposed.

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