| Canadian Federal judges (N = 210) were presented with 77 criteria related to the best interests of the child (BIC). The study examined the respondents' ratings of a range of criteria considered relevant to the BIC. The study also explored whether judges' ratings vary by demographic or personal characteristics and sought to provide support for the theoretical framework advanced by Jameson et al. (1997). On average, judges rated only 1 item as Essential, 10 items as Extremely Important and 10 items as Not Important or Marginally Important. The remaining 56 items were rated Important or Very Important. The significance of many of the criteria would appear to depend greatly upon the specific circumstances and the individuals involved in a particular case and does not vary significantly by characteristics of the respondent. The study provides additional evidence as to the reliability of the BIC questionnaire. The factor analysis did not produce groupings that coincided with the theoretical framework proposed by Jameson et al. (1997). |
