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Differential Child Perceptions of the Parents’ Care and Concerns as a Custody Measure: the Children’s Preference Scale (CPS)

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to design an instrument of a fast but psychometrically reliable instrument to determine which parent is best suited to hold custody of the child in cases where just one parent should have the custody, the Children’s Preference Scale (CPS). This scale is based on children’s opinions of how their parents behave towards them. Sample was incidental and non-probabilistic (468 children and 88 parents). An ad hoc children’s preferences scale was designed for this study. Questions were expressed as the minors’ opinions about the types of behaviour of each parent performs towards them. A version of the Mac-IV Scale and The Interaction Process Analysis Scale of Bales, was administered to parents. The results indicated que CPS satisfied the psychometric requirements. The scale is brief and fast to apply, making it particularly apt for determining which parent is best suited to hold custody from the children’s perspective. Previous studies have forgotten the importance of two variables of great importance for children when determining their attachment: help with homework and communication. This scale takes into account these variables.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Group Research in Criminology, Legal Psychology and Social Justice, Universidade da Coruna, Elvina´s Campus, 15071, A Coruna, España

    Miguel Clemente, Zara Elena Diaz & Pablo Espinosa

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  1. Miguel Clemente
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  2. Zara Elena Diaz
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  3. Pablo Espinosa
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All authors whose names appear on the submission:

- Made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software used in the work;

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- Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Miguel Clemente, Dolores Padilla-Racero and Pablo Espinosa. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Miguel Clemente and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Miguel Clemente.

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Clemente, M., Diaz, Z.E. & Espinosa, P. Differential Child Perceptions of the Parents’ Care and Concerns as a Custody Measure: the Children’s Preference Scale (CPS). Child Ind Res 14, 1089–1104 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-020-09785-x

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