QUESTION (Child custody and parental sociopathy): How does ASPD (Sociopathy) affect child custody, especially if the diagnosed parent is consistent?
ANSWER (Robert A. Simon, Ph.D., Ph.D., M.A. Clinical Psychology, California School of Professional Psychology (1986) Question Answered on Quora June 29, 2018): If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. Mental health diagnosis, or lack of mental health diagnosis, is not dispositive in child custody litigation. Focusing on diagnosis misses the point. There are parents with diagnoses that are great parents and parents without diagnoses that are not good parents at all. Instead, it is essential to focus on behaviors, especially parenting behaviors. It is a huge mistake (and, sadly, one frequently made) to generalize from a mental health diagnosis to how someone parents and their skills as a parent. I hope this helps.
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