The methods used by psychologists to evaluate adults in personal injury cases are often inappropriate for evaluating minors. Some popular instruments and certain styles of questioning should not be used for child litigants. There are also psycholegal issues unique to minors in personal injury cases and the impact of unique developmental, familial, and other contextual factors are critical when evaluating children for psychological injury. Furthermore, the procedures for appropriately collecting evaluation data from young children, in a way that prioritizes their safety, could vastly differ from how psychologists engage and assess adults. This chapter will provide an overview of critical dissimilarities between evaluating adults and minors in connection with personal injury litigation. Key concepts will be defined with a focus on the competencies for forensic practice in this area. The limitations to these evaluations are addressed within a discussion of future directions and a call for scholarship concerning this population of litigants.

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Psychological Evaluation of Minors in Personal Injury Cases

  • Jemour Maddux

摘要

The methods used by psychologists to evaluate adults in personal injury cases are often inappropriate for evaluating minors. Some popular instruments and certain styles of questioning should not be used for child litigants. There are also psycholegal issues unique to minors in personal injury cases and the impact of unique developmental, familial, and other contextual factors are critical when evaluating children for psychological injury. Furthermore, the procedures for appropriately collecting evaluation data from young children, in a way that prioritizes their safety, could vastly differ from how psychologists engage and assess adults. This chapter will provide an overview of critical dissimilarities between evaluating adults and minors in connection with personal injury litigation. Key concepts will be defined with a focus on the competencies for forensic practice in this area. The limitations to these evaluations are addressed within a discussion of future directions and a call for scholarship concerning this population of litigants.