2025/07/24 by Sturtevant, Daniel Joseph
Psychology · #Cognitive Psychology #Constitutional Law #Education #FOS: Law #FOS: Political science #FOS: Psychology #Family Law #Law #Models and Methods #Natural Law #Political Science #Political Theory #Psychology #Social and Behavioral Sciences #best interest of the child #child welfare #children's rights #family studies #intergenerational ethics #moral philosophy #operational definitions #optimization #parental rights
paper · doi:10.17605/osf.io/t829k
This project contains the preprint manuscript of The Best Interest of the Child: The Real Definition, by Daniel J. Sturtevant, PhD. This work offers the first operational, measurable, and testable definition of the “best interest of the child” — a term invoked across family law, education, and child welfare systems for over 50 years, but never formally defined. Drawing on systems theory, developmental psychology, moral philosophy, and constitutional law, the paper introduces a framework grounded in “developmental value” — the long-term emotional, cognitive, and moral capacity a child accrues through sustained investment. The framework resolves longstanding tensions between parental rights and children’s rights, introduces testable hypotheses for policy impact, and enables future research, modeling, and decision standards. Intended for scholars, legal professionals, psychologists, and policymakers, this paper provides a foundation for more coherent practice and policy design in child-related systems.