In the context of situations where the custody of a minor is at stake, there is the possibility of request a parenting aptitude test from a forensic psychologist
This must prepare a legal report addressed to the judge, which expresses the father’s/mother’s abilities according to a series of psychometric tests and interviews that will be carried out. The forensic psychologist takes the place of a specialist who will clearly explain the conclusion reached after carrying out the evaluation, but has no major involvement in the judge’s actions.
When is it necessary to request a parental aptitude test?
However, it is not always necessary to carry out a parental suitability test. Your request is pertinent in those cases in which it is considered that one of the parents does not have the necessary skills and/or aptitudes to care for the child or children. If this is the situation, a document must be created that brings together a set of solid arguments, gathered from the environment of the person who is requesting to be evaluated but also theoretically based, in which the suspicions that It is necessary that said test be completed. This document must be able to bring together the relevant aspects that make it necessary the assessment of parental competencies to justify the request before the judge
Next, we will develop some of the arguments why it is possible to raise the need for a parental aptitude test.
1. The parent cannot ensure hygiene and good nutrition for the children
Both hygiene and good nutrition are two basic needs and rights that all fathers and mothers must ensure for their children Furthermore, learning to practice good personal hygiene or understand the basics of healthy eating are habits that parents should promote in children from an early age so that they gradually acquire greater independence in these tasks.
2. Repeatedly neglects the safety of the children
In accordance with the previous element, the safety of children is essential for healthy psychosocial development. When it comes to small children, parents should pay particular attention to supervising the physical place where they are. However, since many children have a mobile phone from an early age, Care regarding your security must transcend to the digital plane ; That is, supervise who they are in contact with to prevent phenomena such as cyberbullying.
3. Difficulties managing their own emotions
The criteria for requesting a parenting aptitude test also depend on the adult’s emotional competencies. This must be able to empathize with children, trying not to be invalidating with their thoughts, emotions or feelings; but rather it must allow a space for parent-child dialogue to exist at home. Likewise, to provide places for listening, he should communicate assertively, that is, clearly expressing his point of view without trying to impose his ideas on those of his children. For this, It is necessary for the parent to recognize their own emotions and avoid behaviors that could be harmful to your children, such as responding aggressively or acting impulsively.
Discipline is not about imposing immutable regulations on children, but rather it involves clearly explaining to them what are the appropriate and inappropriate habits for life in society. These must be established together with them, which means that both the children and the parent can discuss the reasons why certain norms are established by the adult, why they are considered important for social life, giving rise to a reevaluation. of them if necessary. However, You should not make the mistake of letting children do what they want without restrictions If a parent does not establish discipline guidelines or supervise his children, it could be an argument for requesting a parental aptitude test before a judge.
5. You have difficulty adjusting your expectations of your children
The father’s or mother’s expectations for their children must correspond to the particular developmental stage in which the child is. Each phase of cognitive development has its own problems and particularities to which the parent must adjust its demands.
6. Has a disabling mental disorder
The fact of suffering from a mental disorder can be disabling when it comes to parenting, which is why it could be an argument for requesting a parental competence test. In that case, the forensic psychologist would evaluate, using psychometric tests, the degree to which the father or mother scores in relation to a certain disorder. However, it is important to emphasize that mental disorder must be disabling regarding parenting ; That is, these problems by themselves do not prevent custody of the children.
It must be considered how the presence of the mental disorder incapacitates the parent to care for their children. Some disorders that could indicate difficulties when it comes to parenting are schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, some manifestations of obsessive-compulsive disorder, or bipolar disorder.
7. Presence of addictions
In line with the previous argument, the presence of addictions is a clear indicator of difficulties in exercising a parental role. These addictions are not limited to problematic substance use, such as alcohol, but can also be gambling addictions or behaviors that express the father’s or mother’s inability to control their impulses. An addiction directly interferes with parenting, since it can lead the parent to neglect their children. The prevailing need to consume is capable of clouding their actions, as well as leading them to show an aggressive or irritable attitude towards children if, if necessary, they interrupt the behavior to which their addiction is linked.
8. Conflicts with children
Another possibility is that the child explicitly expresses the existence of a conflict with one of his parents From this, and depending on the particularity of each case, it could be inferred whether the conflict is related to a poor way of raising the child by the parent or not.
