Poster #8

Impact of Posttraumatic Cognitions and Perceived Discrimination on Resilience

By: Alejandra Gonzalez. Co-authored by Katherine Turner, PhD, and Jessica Mueller-Coyne, PsyD

Abstract:

Research reveals that in high-conflict child-custody disputes, claims of domestic violence and child abuse often lead to the protective parent losing custody rather than succeeding in the protection of their child or children (Meier et al., 2019). Protective parents are discussed in research as parents, the majority being mothers, who report incidents of child abuse perpetrated by the co-parent and in turn lose custody of the child to the abusive co-parent (Meier et al., 2019). Previous research reveals that in the United States, more than 80% of children continued to be abused after the court awarded sole custody or unsupervised visits to the abusive parent (Silberg & Dallam, 2019). Most of the past research has focused solely on protective mothers and abusive fathers, with very little attention paid to other family structures or female abusers (Drijber et al., 2013). Saunders and colleagues (2015) found that parents who report abuse perpetrated on them and/or their child(ren) were stigmatized and discriminated against, specifically by evaluators and private attorneys, whose recommendations are often extremely influential on the outcomes of cases. This prospective research seeks to explore specific factors related to loss of custody for protective parents or the allowance of unsupervised visits for the abusive parent. Specifically, this research aims to explore how claims of domestic violence and child abuse may negatively impact child-custody outcomes and place children in future danger, in addition to exploring how protective parents’ history of mental health challenges, adverse childhood experiences, previous substance use, and other factors may create significant stigma leading to loss of custody. This research seeks to be more gender-inclusive by exploring all protective parent experiences. A mixed-methods survey will be utilized for data collection and correlational analyses will be run.

Alejandra Gonzalez

Alejandra Gonzalez received her Bachelor's of Arts and Sciences, from San Diego State University, in psychology with minor(s) in counseling and social change and religious studies. She has been a member of the Lab for Engagement, Attention, and Forensics for a year and a half and has conducted research on intersectionality, adverse childhood experiences, and perceived discrimination. In April, she presented research at the Student Research Symposium, at SDSU, investigating the effects of adverse childhood experiences on perceived discrimination.