Child Custody Litigation: Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse is an invaluable resource for forensic mental health professionals involved with conducting custody evaluations in family court proceedings. Each of the book's five chapters reviews an important component of the evaluation process when allegations of child sexual abuse have been made, moving beyond the description of each parent's psychological functioning and parenting capacity, the identity and needs of the child, and the parent's ability to meet those needs. The book's contributors examine the organizational structure of a child custody evaluation, the meanings of sexual behaviors demonstrated by children, descriptions of sex offenders assessment instruments, the usefulness of Rorschach examinations, and observations from presiding judges.

Preface: Investigating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse: Shortcuts Not Welcome (D. A. Martindale) Introduction (Kathryn Kuehnle) Evaluating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse Within Complex Child Custody Cases (Kathryn Kuehnle and H. D. Kirkpartrick) Correlates of Sexual Behavior in Young Children (Bill Friedrich) Complex Child Custody Evaluations: Evaluating the Alleged Incestuous Parent (Susan J. Sachsenmaier) Rorschach Assessment in Child Custody Cases (Irving B. Weiner) Child Custody Evaluations in Cases Involving Sexual Abuse: A View from the Bench (The Honorable Debra K. Behnke and Mary Connell) Index Reference Notes Included