Examining cognitive performance and psychopathology in individuals undergoing parental competency evaluations.
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In the determination of parental fitness, or competency of an individual to care for a child, psychological assessments are often utilized. Moreover, research suggests that parental competency examinees are distinct from child custody examinees with respect to psychopathology and should be studied as a separate group. To that end, the present study examined the cognitive functioning of 136 parental competency examinees who were undergoing court-ordered evaluations, as well as examined the relationship between cognitive functioning (as assessed by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV [WAIS-IV]) and psychopathology (as assessed by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 [MMPI-2]). Overall, the parental competency sample had lower education and lower cognitive functioning (particularly Full Scale Intelligence Quotient [FSIQ] and Working Memory Index [WMI]) than the normative sample. MMPI-2 scores paralleled those of previous findings for parental competency examinees, and MMPI-2 Scales 8, 0, and 7 were significantly related to WAIS-IV performance, with lower cognitive scores associated with greater psychopathology. Implications include recognition of the role that cognitive functioning may play in parents being referred for parental competency evaluations, the interaction of comorbid psychopathology and lower cognitive functioning, as well as informing treatment recommendations for individuals with co-occurring psychopathology and cognitive deficits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
