Its intentions are extremely well disguised, making it particularly helpful where children have been exposed to bribery and loyalty conflicts. It is exceedingly sensitive to the dynamics of parent-child relationships, and has been used with great accuracy to detect physical and sexual abuse. A rich assortment of clinical data is given in the PORT handbook which makes it possible to learn a great deal about how the child has profited from, or been weakened by, his or her relationship with each parent. These data are useful in many clinical situations, in addition to the custody field. The booklet has been designed to provide a permanent record of each PORT that is administered.
White pages contain the test stimuli to which the child responds.
Blue pages contain administration and scoring directions. Green pages are used to block the child's view of the blue pages. After the test is administered, the green pages are removed. An early study showed an 89 percent agreement rate between courtroom judges and the PORT in choosing optimal primary caretaking parents. The validation process for the PORT has been going on for more than 25 years.