Assessing Parental Risk in Parenting Plan (Child Custody) Cases Involving Internet Sexual Behavior

One type of claim in parenting assessment (child custody)1 cases is that one parent, typically the father, is alleged to be engaging in improper or compulsive sexual behavior via the Internet. The sexual behavior at issue can range from frequent sexually explicit chats with other adults to compulsive viewing of adult pornography. In more extreme cases, the problematic behavior may involve viewing child pornography, and in some cases, the parent faces actual criminal charges in this regard. The present article reviews the current scientific knowledge base for evaluation of risk in such parenting evaluation cases and provides some guidelines and recommendations for an evaluator in the assessment process