The Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS) in Child Custody Evaluations

Abstract

Although the Rorschach is widely used in child custody evaluations, its contributions are often underestimated. As an evidence-supported, performance-based method, it adds incremental validity to self-report findings. It yields insights about perceptual and coping styles, reality testing and logical thinking, emotional regulation and sensitivity, and relational schemas. Some evaluators hesitate to use the Rorschach due to concerns about reliability and validity, admissibility, and courtroom presentation. R-PAS, a relatively new Rorschach system, shows particular promise in addressing such concerns. It selects and organizes variables according to their degree of empirical support and clinical meaningfulness, uses internationally relevant, nonpathologizing reference data, uses contemporary psychometric statistical methods, and presents results in a format that is easy for a court to understand.