Date of Award
2014
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Doctor of Psychology
School
School of Psychology and Social Science
Faculty
Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science
First Supervisor
Dr Greg Dear
Second Supervisor
Dr Deirdre Drake
Abstract
Best interests of the child (BIC) is a construct that is central to legal decisions in several areas including parenting matters in the Family Courts, guardianship, child-protection, and adoption. Despite the centrality of the construct, BIC has not been operationalised (Thomson & Molloy, 2001) and there is little agreement about what is considered best for children within social service and legal communities (Banach, 1998). Given that one of the aims of law is to reflect public sentiment (Green, 1996), the current study explored the general public’s conceptualisation of BIC. More specifically, I sought to determine what community members think the term “best interests” means and what factors they believe need to be considered when determining BIC? A qualitative approach was used and data were collected through semi-structured interviews.
Participants (n= 19) defined BIC as parents effectively meeting the developmental needs of children to produce healthy young adults, both physiologically and psychologically. A complex hierarchical model was generated from participant responses that outlined the primary developmental needs of children and sets of conditions and parenting practices that elicit these. Despite the indeterminate nature and vagueness of the BIC standard, the findings from the current study suggest that current legislative practices do reflect public sentiment. Results of this research represented an important step towards a more comprehensive understanding of the BIC concept and endorse existing practices of forensic evaluators. Moreover, embedding gathered information in the context of child development and parenting literature appears essential to the utility of forensic psychological assessments. Finally, the model generated highlights the complexity of BIC and the need for practitioners to be aware of interactions that exist between child development and contexts of the home, community, culture and society.
Recommended Citation
Dias, N. (2014). Best Interests Of The Child Principle In The Context Of Parent Separation Or Divorce : As Conceptualised By The Community. Edith Cowan University. Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1463