Listed below are published articles by Dr. Hynan (see Vita for complete list)::
Dolan, M. J., & Hynan, D. J. (2014). Fighting over bedtime stories: An empirical study of the risks of valuing quantity over quality in child custody decisions. Law & Psychology Review, 38, 45 – 96.
The tragedy of child custody disputes results in many controversies in social and legal policy. There have been proposals by the American Law Institute (ALI) and others to simplify custody determinations. These proposals rely on quantitative methods, such as trying to assess the proportions of time children spend with each parent pre-separation or instituting a minimum number of days of parenting time. This article includes data collected from parents undergoing custody evaluations and a national survey of mental health professionals. It also reviews other relevant psychological and legal research, and concludes that ALI and related proposals would make things worse for children than the traditional criterion of the best interest of the child. (Read Article)
Hynan, D. J. (2013). Assessing parenting in child custody evaluation: Use of the Parent-Child Relationship Inventory.
Although child custody evaluations obviously focus on parent-child relationships, and parenting measures are frequently used in such evaluations, this is the first peer-reviewed article to report relevant scientific data on custody evaluation parents that includes crucial gender differences. The article is informative for custody evaluators and legal professionals, both about this frequently used instrument and about assessing parent-child interactions generally. (Read Article)
Hynan, D. J. (2013). Use of the Personality Assessment Inventory in child custody evaluation.
The psychological adjustment of parents is an important consideration in child custody determinations, and psychological testing is frequently used to help assess such functioning. The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) is an objective measure of adult emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal functioning that is used in many child custody evaluations. This article presents scientific findings specific to child custody evaluation parents. Interesting gender differences are reported and discussed. Mental health and family law professionals are likely to find the data and discussion very useful. (Read Article)
