Making sense out of uncertainty: cognitive strategies in the child custody decision-making process

Author:

Mendes Josimar Antônio de Alcântara,Ormerod Thomas C.

Abstract

Child custody cases post-parental separation entail inherent complexities and uncertainties for legal experts and decision-makers, and are influenced by context factors. This study sheds light on how legal actors (i.e., judges, prosecutors, lawyers, psychologists, and social workers) navigate the uncertainties that arise in such context and, therefore, make their decisions. Based on a reflexive thematic analysis involving 73 participants from Brazil and England, this study reveals cognitive strategies employed by legal actors to comprehend uncertainty and operate in the decision-making context. These strategies encompass heuristics (i.e., selection, evaluation, degrees of freedom, and outsourcing decisions/ resolution) and metacognitive strategies (custodial arrangements, professional practices and ‘best interests of the child’ speech). These results provide a window into the decision-making processes in child custody cases; they offer a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted sensemaking strategies employed by legal professionals. The results carry substantial implications for informing and improving legal practice in handling complex child custody situations. Furthermore, this study charts new paths for future research by highlighting potential avenues for refining and advancing the strategies employed by legal experts in these cases, especially considering the child’s best interests.

Publisher

Frontiers Media SA

Reference53 articles.

1. Reflexivity;Anderson,2008

2. Litígios intermináveis: uma perpetuação do vínculo conjugal?;Antunes;Aletheia,2010

3. Domestic violence and high conflict are not the same: a gendered analysis;Archer-Kuhn;J. Soc. Welf. Fam. Law,2018

4. Homogenous rules for heterogeneous families: the standardization of family law when there is no standard family;Baker;SSRN Electron. J.,2011

5. Thematic Analysis

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3