216 S ("curt and the Legal System—Family Fwith adoption regulations. One cannot examine policy concerning custodial dis-
putes without examining adoption law. A thorough examination of adoption law
is beyond the scope of this section; however, the issue is important for the protection
of children's emotional well-being and merits further examination.
Family law appears to be more adequate for custodial disputes involving biologi-
cal parents. Psychological research has indicated that conflict in divorce situations is
what is most detrimental to children (M. Bussey, 1 996; Katz & Gottman, 1997; L.ee,
1997). States have changed statutes regarding custody to protect children emotion-
ally. Although there is still room for family law to change in. order to protect children
to an even greater extent, the fact that courts and psychologists have begun working
together to help determine the best interests of the child is promising. Only when
special circumstances such as spousal abuse are considered do researchers make bold
suggestions tor policy change.
Kurtz (1997) argues that statutes need to be created that would prevent abusive
fathers from receiving custody of their children. She argues that even joint custody
should not be allowed because this forces the abused parent to maintain contact with
his or her abuser. Kurtz argues that the Best Interest standard is inadequate when
it comes to spousal abuse cases and that policies must be more specific to prevent
further abuse of the spouse and to prevent the child from emotional trauma. Spousal
abuse is only one circumstance that may require a change in certain statutes regard-
ing child custody. There are certainly many other circumstances in which current
custody laws are insufficient; however, an examination of each circumstance is be-
yond the scope of this section. Spousal abuse provides one example of how current
policies may not protect children's emotional well-being in every given situation.Suggestions for Future ResearchThe ambiguity of the law suggests a lack of consensus among experts on the im-
portance of blood ties versus psychological ties (Oppenheim & Bussiere, 1996).
Research is not consistent regarding what the best interests of the child are. While
some research indicates that blood relationships are more important, other studies
indicate that psychological relationships take precedence. Further research needs to
be conducted to determine the psychological impact of not knowing one's biolog-
ical parents, being raised by adoptive parents but maintaining a relationship with
biological parents, and of being removed from one's psychological parents as a tod-
dler and placed with biological parents. Psychologists have speculated about each
of the above, but longitudinal research to determine the impact of each has not
been undertaken. Such research will also provide social scientists with individual
characteristics of children that may result in more or less emotional stability after
living through a custodial dispute and possibly being taken from psychological par-
ents. For example, research on divorce has shown that gender, degree of conflict in
parental relationship, and the child's IQ all have an impact on the extent to which