my physcological evaluation
Many moons ago, my parents were involved in a custody battle. All sorts of tests were done on my brothers and myself. Here is the psychological evaluation from when I was in 8th grade, in it's complete, unedited form.
Green Bay Wellness and Behavioral Health Clinic
Suite 306, Jefferson Court
125 South Jefferson Street
Green Bay Wisconsin 54301
(414)[920} 437-7878

PYSCOLOGICAL EVALUATION
IDENTIFICATION DATA
NAME:  Douglas Malcore
AGE:  14
DOB:  11/08/79
RACE:  Caucasian
EDUCATION LEVEL:  8th grade

DATE OF EVALUATION:  11/03/93



REASON FOR TESTING.  The Honorable John D. Koehn, circuit court judge in Kewaunee County, requested that I conduct a psychological evaluation of Doug as part of a child custody proceeding.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION.  Doug is a 14 year old, Caucasian male who is an 8th grade student at Luxemburg-Casco Middle School. He resides with his mother and stepfather, Rick and Cara Lindsley, and biological father, Lyle Malcore, on approximately an equal basis.

CHILD CUSTODY INTERVIEW.  Doug was asked a variety of questions relating to his parent. First, Doug was asked what he likes and dislikes about his parents' homes. He stated that he likes living with his mother and stepfather because he is closer to his friend and can play football and basketball in a park right behind the apartment building. He doesn't like the fact that the apartment is so small although he informed me that the family would be moving into a bigger house next year. He likes his fathers home because there is a great deal of land on which he can rid his bicycle. However, he stated that the home itself is old and cold in the winter time, and as such, many repairs are needed. In addition, he stated that his youngest brother, Dan, lives with his father and he does not get along well with Dan.

Doug stated that his mother knows all of his friends as she works at the school that he attends. His father does not know his friends as well as he lives out in the country and, as such, does not invite his friends over to his father's house on a frequent basis. Doug has contact with his paternal grandmother on a frequent basis as she makes meals for him, cleans the house while his father is working on the farm. However, he stated that he does not get along well with her and feels as though she likes his younger brothers better than she does him. Doug stated that "she yells at me for not doing work which I really do."

Doug stated that both his mother and father discipline him by making him do things which he doesn't like to do (e.g., vacuum rugs, wash dishes, work outside in the barn). Doug went on to state that Mr. Lindsley typically does not become involved in disciplining matters and usually allows Mrs. Lindsley to take care of this herself. Doug was asked what things he liked most and least about his parents. He stated that he likes the fact that his mother supports him in the activities which are of interest to him (e.g., bike racing) and praises and encourages him when he does well in these and other activities. He does not like the fact, however, that she yells at him on a frequent basis for anything he or Matt does wrong. Doug stated that he likes his father "because he lets me do what I want. If I want something that is reasonable, he'll buy it for me." He does not like that fact that his father has such a bad temper and "when he gets mad he threatens a lot of stuff." When I asked Doug to provide an example of this he stated "he grabbed me by the shirt, picked me up and threw me to wake me up." Finally, Doug stated that he likes the fact that Mr. Lindsley plays various sporting activities with him and is someone he can talk to easily. However, he doesn't like the fact that he, like Mrs. Lindsley, and Mr. Malcore, yell at him on a frequent basis.

Doug was presented with a variety of hypothetical situations so as to delineate the nature of his relationships with his parent. For example, Doug was asked who he would want to talk to first, his mother or his father, if someone at school was picking on him and threatening to beat him up at the end of the week. he stated that he would prefer to talk to his father first "because Dad doesn't know what goes on at school and would just tell me what to do. Mom would get the principal involved." Doug was then asked if he thought it was better for a child in his situation to live with his mother or father, he stated his mother because "she can teach more things like manners, to behave better and left brain stuff." He was then asked which parent he would choose to live with if he could guarantee that neither parent would feel bad as a result of his decision. He stated that he would prefer to live with his mother during the school year because "there's more stuff to do in the winter time and more time to do my homework." He stated that he would prefer to live with his father during the summer because "there's more stuff to do in the summer."

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS ADMINISTERED.  Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC)-self report and parent versions, Rorschach Test.

BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS.  Doug came to the interview dressed in casual clothes and was adequately groomed. He made poor eye contact, was quiet and did not converse unless was asked questions. Doug exhibited shallow affect however, he was cooperative throughout the course of the testing. His memory for recent and remote events was good.

TEST RESULTS.  Doug completed the BASC-self report while Mrs. Lindsley completed the BASC- parent version. The validity indicators on the BASC-self report indicate that Doug may have been excessively negative in describing his own behavior. As such, the results of the profile must be interpreted with caution. The results of the BASC-parent version indicate that Mrs. Lindsley did not attempt to portray Doug in an overly positive or negative manner, thus, the results are considered valid and interpretable. Doug provided enough responses to the Rorschach cards to provide a valid and interpretively useful record.

The results of the BASC-self report indicate that Doug perceives himself as exhibiting a moderately high degree of adjustment problems. Specifically, he perceives his primary problems to be sensation seeking behaviors (e.g., I like to be scared, I would rather work for the FBI than be a teacher, I like loud music), atypically (e.g.,sometimes I do things over and over and can't stop, when I am angry, I throw things, I like to make up strange stories), locus of control (e.g., I can't seem to control what happens to me, my parents blame too many of their problems on me, people get mad at me, even when I don't do anything wrong), Depression, (e.g., nothing about me is right, I don't seem to do anything right, I am good at only one or two things), and somatization (e.g., other people are healthier than I am, sometimes my ears hurt for no reason, often I feel sick in my stomach). All of these scale scores were in the clinically significant range of severity and are indicative of an individual who does not feel positively about himself or life and may display his unhappiness in the form of internalizing or externalizing behaviors.

The results of the BASC-parent version indicate that, in comparison to other children of his age, Mrs. Lindsley perceives Doug to be exhibit a moderate degree of adjustment problems. Specifically, he perceives his primary problems to be inattention and distractability (e.g., never completes home work from start to finish without taking a break, seldom listens to directions, is easily distracted), and aggression (e.g., blames others, is cruel to animals, sometimes orders others around). These were the only two scale scores in the clinically significant range of severity and are suggestive of an individual who has attention and concentration problems and a tendency to interact with others in an aggressive manner.

The results of the Rorschach suggest that Doug typically has enough resources available to cope effectively with stress. However, when stressors tax his coping resources, Doug feels vulnerable and helpless and is more susceptible to disorganization. Doug tends to use fantasy excessively, especially in stressful situations where he is feeling vulnerable and helpless. This would explain why he scored positively on the Coping Deficit Index.

Doug has a tendency to simplify information which is perceived as complex or ambiguous. This aids in his understanding of the information. Sometimes Doug ignores critical bits of information which is important in understanding an idea or concept. Doug displays expected or acceptable behavior the majority of the time although other times, due to his faulty reasoning and judgment, he displays behavior which does not coincide with social demands or expectations.

Doug has a tendency to regard himself less favorably when compared to others. His self image, however, tends to be based largely on imaginary rather than real experience. Doug may be somewhat less mature that others his age which may promote difficulties in his interpersonal relationships. Indeed, he prefers to maintain some distance or safety in his relationships. Doug does not experience needs for emotional closeness in ways similar to most people. In addition, Doug may not anticipate positive interactions among people as a routine even. This is consistent with his statement in the clinical interview regarding his perception of others yelling at him when he did not do anything wrong.

SUMMARY.  The purpose of the evaluation was to provide information to be used in a child custody proceeding. Doug is an individual who resides with his mother and stepfather and father on and approximately equal basis. He is performing average course work in school and has one or two close friends.

When making a decision regarding who should obtain full custody of a child one must take into consideration the best interests of the child. Doug stated that there was a variety of things which he liked and disliked about his parents. He was consistent in his perception that others tend to blame him for things which he does not do wrong and this apparently has created some conflicts in his relationships with his parents. Doug stated that if he had to make a decision who he wanted to live with on a full time bassi, he would want to live with his mother during the school year and his father during the summer. However, he felt it was better for a child to live with his mother because of the factors mentioned previously. In addition, Doug has perceived he mother to be more supportive of his interests and more available to him. This is important for Doug at the present time give that he perceives himself as having difficulty coping with stressful life events and his low self concept. Given these set of factors, I feel it in Doug's best interests for his mother and stepfather to be awarded full custody of him. This is not to say that his father does not present characteristics which are positive and desirable, however, Mr. and Mrs. Lindsley currently provide an environment which is considered beneficial for the improvement of Doug's psychological status.




Christopher J. Quarto, Ph.D.
Wisconsin Licensed Psychologist

CJQ/mc
© Doug Malcore 2002