Experience of forensic psychological examination on the education and place of residence of children: risks measurement ⁴⁵⁹¹

The article is the result of long-term experience in forensic psychological examinations and psychological assessments on the request of Department of guardianship. The aim of the psychologist’s work is to provide information about psychological components of a conflict situation, which is required for a comprehensive determining the place of residence for a child, rules of his communication with parents, deprivation or restriction of parental rights, abolition of child custody, abolition of adoption. A psychologist is involved into studying individual psychological characteristics of a child, his relationship to the parents, other members of the family and social environment, characteristics of the parents’ position, considering the conflict between the parents, parents and grandparents. The aim of the study is to obtain information and evaluate the risks that may develop under different circumstances and conditions of child life. With external similarity between their procedures and content, the work of a legal expert is significantly different (having procedural form) from the work of a specialist, who fulfills the Department of guardianship request (in non-procedural form). We differentiate the psychologist’s status and his activity regulation by the following parameters: trigger mechanism, study initiator, subject of performance, responsibilities, rights and duties, terms, psychological conclusion and his activities outside the scope of the investigation. We highlight common life situations in which parents, grandparents initiate the establishment of communication order, child’s place of residence, as well as the appointment and maintaining of custody. The analysis reveals that presence of direct and hidden motives of legal argument participants affects the predictive expert risk assessment of parenting and child development.

Keywords: forensic psychological examination, psychological examination at a request of Child Protection Services, expert job regulations, expert judgment, risk analysis of child development and education with parents living apart, common situations of establishment of communication order and child’s place of residence, Federal law "On the State Forensic expert activities in Russian Federation"

Column: Forensic and Clinical Psychology in Legal Context