PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS FOR EVALUATORS
In light of the foregoing discussion, Austin (2011) offers the following suggestions to custodyevaluators for considering the issue of gatekeeping:• Assess past patterns of involvement by each parent.
• Assess the type of gatekeeping that occurred during the marriage and separation.
• Distinguish between gatekeeping attitudes and behaviors.
• Determine if the restrictive gatekeeping attitudes seem to reflect short-term and litigation-related distress, or if they are likely to become part of a pattern of enduring conflict and entrenched gatekeeping behaviors.
• Ascertain if the parents can see value in the other parent despite their negative attitudes and feelings towards their ex-partner, and whether they can compartmentalize feelings fromco-parenting behaviors.
• Be mindful that litigating parties’ reports of gatekeeping behaviors may be distorted and exaggerated.
• Look for corroborative collateral data to confirm gatekeeping behaviors.
• If there are restrictive gatekeeping attitudes and/or behaviors, do the data show they are justifiable?
• Expect to see protective gatekeeping in cases involving allegations of intimate partner violence.
• Distinguish between protective gatekeeping and unjustified gate-closing behaviors.
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