Evaluating Child-Custody Recommendations of Israeli Arab Social Workers

Abstract

Objectives:

To evaluate Israeli Arab social workers’ custody recommendations, given the unique cultural context in which they operate.

Methods:

The current study used an experimental-design embedded within a survey. Data regarding custody recommendations were collected from 137 Israeli Arab social workers.

Results:

Israeli Arab social workers tend to adhere to traditional norms and prefer mother’s custody (odds ratio [OR] = 3.74; effect size [ES] = 0.73) over father’s (OR = 0.05; ES = −1.65) and joint custody (OR = 0.19; ES = −0.91). Contrary to the hypothesis, males were not associated with father’s custody, but female gender increased the chances for mother’s custody (OR = 1.27; ES = 0.13). Parents’ education level increased the chances for joint-custody recommendation (OR = 1.69; ES = 0.29).

Conclusion:

Traditional social norms have an impact on the social worker’s decision. The relationships between social workers’ decision-making processes and their perception societal expectations and norms can be viewed from the perspectives of tacit knowledge, worker’s reflexivity, and evidence-based practice. We emphasize the importance of developing and assimilating relevant organizational mechanisms, supervision, and teaching curricula.

Keywords

decision-making custody Arab society traditionalism divorce

Despite the changes that have occurred in Arab society in Israel in recent decades, that is, from a closed, traditional society with a patriarchal structure to an open society that is adopting western living patterns (Arar & Haj-Yahia, 2011), the phenomenon of divorce in this society is still considered as a sensitive taboo (Buchbinder & Barakat, 2014; Haj-Yahia, 2000). This is because it involves a serious violation of important collectivist values in Arab society and may cause harm to the relationships between the couple’s families of origin (Abu-Saleh, 2005). The breakup of the existing social and legal order obligates the partners to make many decisions, including decisions regarding parental custody. This obligation might be difficult for parents who are continually fighting and experiencing tension (Gith, 2013b). Therefore, in the absence of agreement, the authorized judicial authority—the court—is required to determine which parent should receive custody as well as the visiting rights of the noncustodial parent (Gith, 2013a; Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law, 1962). In Israel, two parallel legal systems operate in cases of divorce and custody decisions, the civil family court and the religious courts (Zafran, 2013). While divorce can be granted only in religious court, monetary issues and custody may be decided either by a religious court or by a civic family court.

Among the most difficult and complex decisions facing courts of law are those related to parental custody conflicts. Their role is to minimize the damage to the child during the decision-making process and to maximize the benefit to the child by its outcome (Zafran, 2013). When making this decision, the court is entitled to request the involvement of expert social workers (Silman Committee, 2014) who have the necessary psychosocial tools for examining the optimal environment for the child. These experts deal with the question of determining the custodial parent and the time that the minors will spend with the noncustodial parent, through observations and interviews with family members and with external authorities in the community (Silman Committee, 2014). They then present their findings and opinion to the court (Tippins & Wittmann, 2005). Studies indicate that this opinion has a direct influence on the judges’ final decision (Arkin, 2005; Frishtik & Yagelnik, 2007). Thus, in fact, the social workers serve as the long arm of the court in determining custodial and visiting arrangements following divorce (Zur, 2008).

Officially, the social workers’ opinion on this issue draws on the principle of “best interest of the child” as its primary consideration, which anchors the child’s range of rights, needs, and interests (Silman Committee, 2014). However, criticism voiced in the professional discipline raises doubt as to the possibility of creating a professional opinion based on this principle for the purpose of determining parental efficacy and deciding the best possible custodial arrangement (Tippins & Wittmann, 2005). First, because the definition of parental efficacy or inefficacy is based on a qualitative rather than a quantitative social norm and is measured accordingly (Yagil, 2008), addressing parental inefficacy as a problem is, in fact, culture dependent (Zaki, 2004). In other words, parental efficacy is dependent on the cultural norms and therefore subjected to biases based on those norms. Second, because the required professional tools for formulating a professional opinion were developed in a modern, Western society, the extent of their fit to other cultural norms and values was not examined (Zoabi & Savaya, 2012, 2016). Hence, the opinion on this complicated issue might be influenced by the attitudes and personal characteristics of the professional, of the child who is the object of the decision in the case under discussion, and of the overall structure of the society.

Factors Influencing Social Workers’ Decision-Making

Decisions about the child’s best interest, namely, the social worker’s recommendation regarding joint custody, or sole custody of either parent, draw on a system-wide perception characterized by viewing the family unit as preserving the children’s best interest, which establishes their rights and needs (Silman Committee, 2014). This principle serves as a criterion for making decisions pertaining to the children, giving appropriate weight to the different facets, such as their physical and mental well-being, wishes, emotions, and stances as well as the stance of the parents and significant others in the children’s lives (Rotlevy, 2003).

However, judgments and decisions regarding custody recommendations are expected to be based on rational consideration, without prejudice, while considering the implications of each of the outcomes for the child (Zafran, 2013), is often influenced by heuristic factors, which lead to bias in professional judgment (e.g., Enosh & Bayer-Topilsky, 2015; Enosh, Nouman, & Atzur, 2016; Enosh, Nouman, & Sharon, 2016). Decision-making is a dual process involving two cognitive systems (Evans, 2008): heuristic-intuitive reasoning (automatic processes) and controlled-analytical reasoning (rule-based processes). While rational decision-making is considered to be the ultimate standard (Tversky & Kahneman, 1975), it was criticized by other researchers in the field, claiming that human rationality is always bounded and that natural decision-making by professionals is based on fast and frugal heuristics that have been proved to be efficient through accumulated experience (Gigerenzer, 2004; Gigerenzer, Hertwig, & Pachur, 2011). On the other hand, given the lack of absolute and unequivocal outcome criteria according to which to base one’s decision and accumulated experience, professionals may develop biased heuristics, rather than efficient ones (e.g., Dhami, 2003; Dhami & Ayton, 2001)

Thus, a question arises regarding social workers’ decisions in custody cases: Do they use efficient heuristics based on judgments of parental ability to care for their children, or do they base their decisions on biased heuristics drawn from traditional norms. Indeed research findings indicate that personal, professional (Lulu, 2000; Mattison, 2000), social, and cultural factors (Cohen & Segl-Engelchin, 2000; Hacker & Frenkel, 2005; Hall & Paradice, 2007) impact social workers’ professional discretion in situations in which they are required to predict future behavior. Previous research indicated that cultural norms may cause bias in favor of the mother due to a tendency to reject untraditional models of joint custody or sole custody of the father (Crawford & Bradley, 2016; Enosh, Nouman, & Atzur, 2016; Enosh, Nouman, & Sharon, 2016). The traditional models are anchored in the accepted legislative system in Israel based on the Tender Years Doctrine (Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law, 1962), according to which, preference is given to the mother for custody of children up to age 6. This doctrine holds true unless the mother is barred from being the custodial parent due to dysfunction or parental incapability. The legislation is based on the social construction that sees the mother figure as more ideal than the father to fulfill the needs of the child at this age (Frishtik, 2005)

Gender and Custody

Although mothers have been seen as the primary caregiver and therefore the ideal parent for children, recent literature suggests that fathers have an important role in the lives of their children. There is a growing evidence for the changing role of fathers in their children’s lives and the higher levels of involvement (McBride et al., 2005). Findings of studies in recent decades indicate a wide range of types of father involvement in children’s lives (Lamb, Pleck, Charnov, & Levine, 1987). Lamb and colleagues (Lamb, Pleck, Charnov, & Levine, 1985, 1987) proposed a conceptualization of types of involvement. They defined three dimensions: engagement, referring to the father’s direct contact with his children and the extent of his caregiving and provision of their needs; availability, referring to the father’s presence and accessibility to his children, regardless of the nature of their interaction; and responsibility, relating to the assurance of resources necessary for the child’s care (Lamb & Sagi, 2014). As evident from research findings, fathers have both direct and indirect influences on their children and both pathways are keys to a comprehensive understanding of fatherhood. Fathers influence their children directly through their behavior and the attitudes and messages they convey. Fathers’ unique communicative styles directly teach children about the linguistic and communicative demands of social exchanges (Lamb & Tamis-Lemonda, 2004). Indirect paternal influences include fathers’ emotional investment in and attachment to their children and the provision of resources (Ahrons, 2007; King & Sobolewski, 2006).

Furthermore, one may ask about the child’s gender. Is there a relationship between the child’s gender and the parent’s gender? Is it preferable to award custody of sons to the father and custody of daughters to the mother? There is no definitive research regarding this issue, however, the professional literature indicates that fathers are awarded custody of their sons more often than custody of their daughters (Dahl & Moretti, 2004). This is attributed either to the emotional relationship that forms between fathers and sons, leading to their investing greater effort in the fight for custody of their sons, or to the view that the father is perceived as able to provide better quality and more efficient parenting for boys in light of their developmental requirements in the gender context (Lundberg, McLanahan, & Rose, 2007).

The Legal Context in Israel

It has been claimed that the Tender Years Doctrine violates the children’s right to a meaningful relationship with their father, hinders the court from making a decision appropriate for each individual child, and expresses a social gender norm according to which the mother is primarily responsible for raising the children (Perlman, 2012). Therefore in Israel, the official committee that discussed legal aspects of parental responsibility in divorce (Schnitt Committee, 2011) proposed the abrogation of the Tender Years Doctrine and adoption of the joint responsibility model for both parents, which puts the best interest of the child at the top of the custodial agenda. However, the doctrine was never abrogated, probably due to the clarity and ease of use as a decision-making tool it presents with the court. Yet, over the years, its interpretation was expanded to allow for a more balanced approach that takes into account the best interests of the child, and the role of the father in the child’s life (Zafran, 2013). Furthermore, since the doctrine is limited to the age of 6, in order to avoid its direct subversion of the current study, we have referred only to children above the age of 7.

The Social Context of Doing Social Work in Arab Israeli Society

Arabs in Israel still live in a collectivist society (Azaiza, 2008; Dwairy, 2002; Sedikides & Brewer, 2015; Zoabi & Savaya, 2012, 2016). Whereas the societal norms among Israeli Arabs are collectivist in nature, it was found that the more educated the individuals, the higher the tendency to uphold Westernized attitudes and social norms (Abu-Rabia-Queder, 2008; Abu-Rabia-Queder & Weiner-Levy, 2008; Haj-Yhya, 2006; Lavee & Haj Yahia-Abu Ahmad, 2010; Weiner-Levy, 2006). In traditional Arab society, the divorced woman is perceived merely as a “mother” who is not entitled to realize a new couple relationship (Meller, 2011). Therefore, she sees her role as an inseparable part of her identity and devotes all her time and energy to raising her children. Joint parental responsibility means changing her identity. In the traditional Arab society, it is doubtful that she will be allowed to come to terms with her different identity, for example, through self-fulfillment or finding a new partner (Gith, 2013b). In this context, giving custody to mothers is the “natural” societal response and the indicated recommendation social expected of social workers. Giving custody to the father would become an option only if the mother is perceived as totally lacking of parental capabilities. Recommending joint parental responsibility implies the obligation that both parents will continue to remain in touch to discuss issues regarding their children. Such relationship may be perceived as problematic in traditional Arab society, which sees the divorced parents as two individuals who are denied interaction following the divorce (Abu-Baker, 2007).

Whereas the Arab society in Israel is mostly traditional and collectivistic, Arab social workers in Israel are being trained within the Israeli high education system that upholds westernized norms (Zoabi & Savaya, 2016). On the other hand, they are confronted with a dissonance between their learned values and the social expectations and norms of the population they serve (Zoabi & Savaya, 2012, 2016). Those expectations are based on the traditional values and norms, including gender roles of parents. Such traditional gender role expectations include the expectation that child care will be the responsibility of the mother. Thus, in traditional Arab society, a paternal or joint-custody recommendation may become problematic (Abu-Baker, 2007; Gith, 2013b).

This raises a dual question—do the social workers operate out of the values they were educated by? Or do they fit their decision-making process and custody recommendations to the expectations of the society they operate with? If they fit their recommendations to the general social norms of the society within which they operate, we can expect that they would recommend exclusively maternal custody, regardless of case characteristics. If they fit their recommendations to the westernized values they were educated by, we can expect more equal distribution between maternal and paternal custody recommendations, and a high percentage of joint-custody recommendations. Finally, if they fit their recommendations to the specific case, taking into account the family characteristics, we can expect that they would recommend maternal custody for low-education families, and a more diverse distribution including joint-custody recommendations for families of higher education. We can expect that when encountering parents who received higher education, social workers would assume those parents will hold more modernized values, and treat them accordingly, as was found by Haj-Yahya-Abu Ahmad (2006), that the more educated the parents were, the more westernized attitudes toward child-rearing they upheld.

Hypotheses

Hypothesis 1: All else being equal, preference will be given to recommend mother’s custody.

Hypothesis 2: Male children will be more prone to be recommended for father’s custody than female children.

Hypothesis 3: In cases of parents with academic education, social workers will tend to recommend more paternal or joint custody, compared to cases in which the parents lack academic education.

Method

Sample and Sampling Procedures

A purposive convenience sample was used (Patton, 2011) and included social workers from social service departments in local municipalities in Arab society in Israel, who were involved in the processes of parental custody allocation. The questionnaires were administered to the social workers personally by one of the researchers, as well as via professionals in the field, alongside an introductory letter explaining the essence and aims of the study. Overall, 340 social workers were approached, of whom 137 responded (40% response rate). Of those, most were female (73%), the average age was 36 (SD = 7.19), the average professional experience was 12 years (SD = 7.20). In terms of education, 71.5% were at the bachelor of social work level, 28.5% had obtained a master of social work degree or were studying toward it. In terms of religious affiliations, 69% were Muslims, 26.5% were Christians, and 4.5% were Druze.

Instruments

Background questionnaire

Personal and professional background characteristics of the worker were collected, in order to serve as control variables. The following two-part questionnaire was given to all the study respondents: The first part was a sociodemographic background questionnaire including issues such as age, gender, religious affiliation, professional education, years of professional experience, and a level of religiosity scale. Years of professional experience and age were found to be highly correlated (r = .96). Thus, in order to avoid multicollinearity, we retained only professional experience as control variable.

Religiosity scale

The level of religiosity scale (M. Haj-Yahia, Three questions for measuring religiosity. personal communication, 2002) includes 3 items that examine different components: (a) the extent to which the participant defines himself or herself as religious, (b) the extent to which the participant adheres to one’s religious laws, and (c) the extent to which the participant identifies with and has a sense of belonging to one’s religion. The participants responded to all the items on a 5-point scale reporting the level of religiosity, ranging from (1) not at all to (5) very much. A mean score was calculated, with a high score indicating a high level of religiosity. Overall, the mean religiosity of the sample was 4.05 (SD== 1.17).

Factorial design using case descriptions

Eight detailed vignettes (case descriptions) were presented to each participants, each followed by one question: What type of custody would you recommend? (a) Father, (b) Mother, (c) Other (please specify). It should be noted that in the current study, 98% of participants marked “joint custody” in the “other” parental custody item, thus, this category was eventually so defined. The case descriptions were based on factorial survey principles (Rossi, 1979; Rossi & Anderson, 1982), which consist of an experimental design embedded within a survey framework. The vignettes were derived from real-life case descriptions obtained from social services records. The manipulated variables in the 2 × 2 experimental design included (a) child’s gender (male/female), (b) parent’s education level (high/low). Two case descriptions of the same manipulation structure were presented to each respondent, to a sum of eight case descriptions.

To neutralize the possible effects of the order in which the cases appeared, we systematically shuffled all eight cases by constructing four variously arranged versions; those four versions were distributed randomly to the respondents. We validated the case descriptions using interrater reliability: a preceding two-part questionnaire was presented to six experts from the field of child welfare—three researchers and three high-ranking practitioners from the child protection services. These case descriptions were based on real-life cases from social workers’ experience. The judges’ division of cases was consistent with how they were preconstructed by the researchers, an outcome that served to validate the instrument. Interrater agreement among the six judges retained was 0.94 (for procedures, see Ebel, 1951; MacLennan, 1993).

Analysis

The social workers’ recommendations regarding parental custody were examined through the eight cases presented to them. Therefore, the results were analyzed according to the number of cases rather than the number of respondents. One hundred and thirty-seven social workers evaluated 1,096 cases. All the analyses were conducted using STATA-14 (StataCorp, 2015). To analyze the effects of the experimental manipulations on the recommendation, a logistic regression analysis was performed. All the regression models controlled for the respondents’ personal and professional characteristics, which included family status, gender, number of children, year of birth, and job. Furthermore, since all the analyses were conducted at the case level, in order to control for possible clustering at the respondent level, we used robust logistic regression in STATA, a procedure equivalent to generalized estimating equations (Rogers, 1993; StataCorp, 2015; Williams, 2000).

Odds ratios are based on a dichotomous distribution and may be considered unstandardized effect sizes (Grace-Martin, 2016). In order to calculate standardized effect sizes comparable to those achieved for linear models, we used the procedure described by Chinn (2000). This procedure is based on approximating the difference between the logistic distribution and the normal equivalent deviate “by dividing the ln(odds) by π/√3, which is 1.81 to two decimal places” (Chinn, 2000, p. 3128).

Ethical Considerations

The participants were informed about the goals of the study, which were defined as examining attitudes of social workers regarding custody recommendations in disputed cases. They were also informed that participation is anonymous and that by filling the questionnaire they consent to participate in the study. The study was approved by the Committee for Research with Human Beings of the University of Haifa.

Results

The Preference for Mother’s Custody

We first hypothesized that due to the traditional social context, preference will be given to recommend mother’s custody rather than father’s or joint custody. Indeed, in their parental custody recommendations, the social workers tended to show a preference for the mother, as can be seen from the high rate of choosing the mother as custodian (78.92%), as well as the odds ratio for the decision (3.7 for recommending mother’s custody as opposed to 0.05 for father’s custody, or 0.19 for joint custody) as presented in Table 1.

Table 1.
Custody Recommendation: Frequency, Percentage, Odds Ratios (OR), and Effect Sizes (ES).

Recommendations No. of Cases (%) OR (ES)

Mother custody 865 (78.92) 3.74 (0.73)

Father custody 49 (4.47) 0.05 (−1.65)

Joint custody 182 (16.60) 0.19 (−0.91)

Total 1,096 (100)

Child’s, parents, and workers’ characteristics

To examine the second, third, and fourth hypotheses, dealing with the influence of the child’s gender (Hypothesis 2), parents’ level of education (Hypothesis 3), and social worker’s personal and professional characteristics (i.e., gender, age, level of religiosity, education level, role, and years of professional seniority; Hypotheses 4), on predicting parental custody recommendations, we conducted three logistic regression models, predicting each type of parental custody recommendation (mother custody, father custody, and joint custody). The findings are presented in Table 2.

Table 2.
Logistic Regression Predicting Custody Recommendations, by Social Worker’s Personal and Professional Characteristics and Child and Family Characteristics.

Characteristic Custody Recommendation

Joint Father Mother

OR (ES) OR (ES) OR (ES)

Child’s and family characteristics

Child’s gender (female) 0.73 (−0.17) 1.27* (0.13) 0.83 (−0.10)

Parents’ education level 0.87 (−0.08) 0.68(−0.21) 1.69 (0.29)

Social worker professional characteristics

Role (child protection officer) 1.2 (0.46) 2.11 (0.41) 0.34 (−0.60)

Years of professional experience 0.86* (−0.08) 0.88* (−0.07) 1.20 (0.10)

Social worker personal characteristics

Gender (female) 0.41 (−0.49) 1.95* (0.37) 0.60 (−0.28)

Age 0.87* (−0.08) 0.89* (−0.06) 1.19* (0.55)

Level of religiosity 0.92 (−0.04) 1.31 (0.15) 0.75 (−.16)

Education 0.46* (−0.43) 0.87 (−0.08) 1.37* (0.17)

Wald χ² 28.17 34.81 42.11**

Note. OR = odds ratio; ES = effect size.

*p < .05. **p < .001.

All three regression models that were examined were found to be statistically significant, χ² _(Mother) = 34.81, p < .01; χ² _(Father) = 28.17, p < .01; χ² _(Joint) = 42.11, p < .01.

Regarding the second hypothesis, it was found that child’s gender influenced only the recommendation for mother’s custody, so that female children were more likely to be recommended for mother’s custody. In terms of parental education (Hypothesis 3), the higher the parents’ level of education, the greater was the tendency to recommend joint custody over sole custody of either the mother or the father. The findings indicate that the social worker’s role, years of professional experience, gender, and level of religiosity, had significant influence on awarding custody to the mother, such that young, female, religious social workers tended to recommend mother’s custody. The odds for joint custody increased if the social worker was more experienced, less religious, and more educated.

Discussion and Applications to Practice

Overall, the study findings indicate that Arab social workers tend to adhere to traditional norms and bias their recommendations toward mother’s custody, while taking into account the educational level of the parents as an indicator of their openness to modern ideas and practices, such as joint custody. The decision regarding parental custody in divorce cases demands the involvement of social workers who have the expertise and professional knowledge to examine the child’s psychological well-being and the parents’ efficacy. However, making the decision in a complex and uncertain reality might cause bias in professional discretion (Enosh & Bayer-Topilsky, 2015). In this study, we attempted to examine the influence of societal traditionalism and the characteristics of the child and the family, on the decisions made regarding parental custody issues, in situations of uncertainty as to which parent is more suitable to be custodian. The study hypotheses, which examined the influence of these factors in an experimental manipulation procedure, were supported.

The central finding that arose from this study indicates social workers’ tendency to award parental custody to the mother, first and foremost. This finding is consistent with the first study hypothesis, according to which, in Arab society, traditional gender roles within the family are still held sacred. The finding is in accordance with an array of studies that indicate social workers’ tendency to favor the mother in their parental custody recommendations during divorce procedures (Enosh, Nouman, & Atzur, 2016; Enosh, Nouman, & Sharon, 2016; Hacker, 2008; Cohen & Segal-Engelchin, 2000). This tendency that was identified in the research can be attributed to traditional values and norms. The social worker might be a “cultural agent” who carries the accepted value system in traditional Arab society, which is based on a patriarchal family structure. According to this value system, the father has a dominant public image, whereas the mother stays at home and manages the family “behind the scenes.” Hence, according to the traditional perception, her role is to support, educate, and raise her children, and to make decisions about their everyday lives (Aburabia-Queder, 2011; Abu-Rabia-Queder & Weiner-Levi, 2008). It is therefore not surprising that the value system has a direct influence on the interpretation of the information and is the fundamental reason for bias in the decision in favor of the mother.

Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that a biased decision in favor of the mother, which anchors the child in a safe attachment according to the traditional perception, is not the social workers’ only way of “managing the crisis.” The study findings show that in situations of uncertainty regarding the most suitable custodial parent, social workers recommend joint custody in 16.6% of cases as opposed to father’s custody in only 4.5% of cases. This finding is in keeping with the prevalent perception in Western society that joint parental care for the children during a divorce and maintaining a constant, stable relationship between the children and both parents are important factors for predicting the children’s emotional adjustment (Fabricius & Luecken, 2007). In this context the third hypothesis stated that either paternal or joint custody will be recommended more for parents with academic education and less for less educated parents, as indeed was the case. This finding highlights the tendency of social workers to fit their recommendations to the perceived customs and social norms of their clients. Thus, when the parents are perceived as more educated, and therefore more open to modern ideas, the recommendations are in lieu. It is possible that the professionals believe that a high level of education influences the parents’ status as well as their ability to fulfill their parental tasks and to cope with the special nature of joint custody. These findings regarding joint parental custody clarify that this recommendation, which is perceived in Arab society as a violation of the traditional norms, requires rich and varied professional experience that includes the ability to be sensitive to borderline issues, to expand one’s viewpoint, to show flexibility with the traditional stances, and to examine the system of considerations out of theoretical and practical rationale that is anchored in the principle of the best interest of the child.

Looking through the cultural lens, this recommendation strives to shape a new cultural order. Therefore, the findings of the present study, which indicate an open attitude toward choosing joint parental custody for more educated parents, are indicative of a change occurring in Arab society regarding old-established conventions that naturally prefer the mother as custodial parent.

Methodologically, in order to reduce the complex process of decision-making, and to examine specific variables, the current study manipulated experimentally only the child’s gender and the parents’ level of education, while taking into account social workers’ characteristics. Other child- and family-related variables, such as level of communication and cooperation among the parents, level of parental efficacy, and child’s residential environment, may be highly influential as well. Such issues may serve as the basis for future studies that will expand the current knowledge regarding factors influencing social workers custody recommendations in traditional societies.

To summarize, the relationships between social workers’ decision-making processes and their perception societal expectations and norms can be viewed from the perspectives of tacit knowledge (Polanyi, 1966), worker’s reflexivity (D’Cruz, Gillingham, & Melendez, 2007; Schön, 1987), and evidence-based practice (Soydan & Palinkas, 2014; Shapira, Enosh, & Havron-Shapira, 2016). Our findings indicate that social workers tend to base their decisions on their perceptions of the social norms of their clients. Such practice may be understood as using tacit knowledge that is not necessarily verbalized and conceptualized. However, to the degree that such knowledge is not formally conceptualized, it may hinder socially adaptive performance as well as promote it. Therefore, we recommend that social workers will engage more in reflective practices in order to turn their practice wisdom into formal knowledge, while relating such practice wisdom to other sources of evidence. The findings of the present study provide an opportunity to think about developing and assimilating organizational mechanisms, which will make professionals’ decision-making more efficient and culturally relevant, regarding child custody recommendations, and to adapt more consciously the workers’ recommendations to the norms and readiness of the parents as clients, to the children’s best interests. In order to achieve that, formal procedures of combining reflexive processes, supervision, usage of and access to evidence-based practice knowledge, should be incorporated into social work organizations and social work teaching curricula.

Recommendations	No. of Cases (%)	OR (ES)
Mother custody	865 (78.92)	3.74 (0.73)
Father custody	49 (4.47)	0.05 (−1.65)
Joint custody	182 (16.60)	0.19 (−0.91)
Total	1,096 (100)

Characteristic	Custody Recommendation
Child’s and family characteristics
Child’s gender (female)	0.73 (−0.17)	1.27* (0.13)	0.83 (−0.10)
Parents’ education level	0.87 (−0.08)	0.68**(−0.21)	1.69** (0.29)
Social worker professional characteristics
Role (child protection officer)	1.2 (0.46)	2.11** (0.41)	0.34** (−0.60)
Years of professional experience	0.86* (−0.08)	0.88* (−0.07)	1.20** (0.10)
Social worker personal characteristics
Gender (female)	0.41** (−0.49)	1.95* (0.37)	0.60 (−0.28)
Age	0.87* (−0.08)	0.89* (−0.06)	1.19* (0.55)
Level of religiosity	0.92 (−0.04)	1.31** (0.15)	0.75** (−.16)
Education	0.46* (−0.43)	0.87 (−0.08)	1.37* (0.17)
Wald χ²	28.17**	34.81**	42.11**

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Characteristic	Custody Recommendation
	Joint	Father	Mother
	OR (ES)	OR (ES)	OR (ES)
Child’s and family characteristics
Child’s gender (female)	0.73 (−0.17)	1.27* (0.13)	0.83 (−0.10)
Parents’ education level	0.87 (−0.08)	0.68**(−0.21)	1.69** (0.29)
Social worker professional characteristics
Role (child protection officer)	1.2 (0.46)	2.11** (0.41)	0.34** (−0.60)
Years of professional experience	0.86* (−0.08)	0.88* (−0.07)	1.20** (0.10)
Social worker personal characteristics
Gender (female)	0.41** (−0.49)	1.95* (0.37)	0.60 (−0.28)
Age	0.87* (−0.08)	0.89* (−0.06)	1.19* (0.55)
Level of religiosity	0.92 (−0.04)	1.31** (0.15)	0.75** (−.16)
Education	0.46* (−0.43)	0.87 (−0.08)	1.37* (0.17)
Wald χ²	28.17**	34.81**	42.11**