Family Forensics
OVERVIEW
This chapter examines selected controversies and issues in forensic psychology im-
pacting families. For purposes of this chapter, the use of the term "family" is broadly
defined. When the legal and psychological communities promote policies and/or
therapeutic interventions that affect how parents and their children are to interact,
then the structure and process of what it means to be in a family are called into
question.
Several subjects investigated in this chapter explore the way in which the legal
system, with the aid of psychologists, make decisions about parents, their children,
and the family unit. In addition, other sections consider how trauma and violence
affect the behavior of family members and how the court's respond to such abuse. In
total, six subjects are examined. These topics include (1) family trauma and the cycle
of crime, (2) family violence and homicide, (3) the role of paternalism and parens
patriae in mental health law on the family, (4) family law and the "emotional rights"
of children, (5) domestic violence, and (6) gay/lesbian rights and definitions of the
family. While the issues reviewed in this chapter do not exhaustively canvass the
family forensic field, the topics chosen are, nonetheless, controversial, significant.
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