Divorce mediation: the impact of mediation on the psychological well‐being of children and parents

Adjustment to Divorce: A Preliminary Study among Muslim Arab Citizens of Israel

“…However, the positive contribution of satisfaction with the court hearing is consistent with findings in the literature on divorce mediation, which show that mediated divorces result in both greater satisfaction and greater post-divorce well-being than do adversarial divorces (Brams & Taylor, 1996;Walton, Oliver, & Griffin, 1999). However, the positive contribution of satisfaction with the court hearing is consistent with findings in the literature on divorce mediation, which show that mediated divorces result in both greater satisfaction and greater post-divorce well-being than do adversarial divorces (Brams & Taylor, 1996;Walton, Oliver, & Griffin, 1999).…”

“…The association between the divorce process and post-divorce adjustment has received little direct attention in the literature, making comparison of the present findings difficult. However, the positive contribution of satisfaction with the court hearing is consistent with findings in the literature on divorce mediation, which show that mediated divorces result in both greater satisfaction and greater post-divorce well-being than do adversarial divorces (Brams & Taylor, 1996;Walton, Oliver, & Griffin, 1999). Along similar lines, the negative contribution of stressful events during the divorce process is consistent with claims in the literature on stress, which argue that a pile-up of attendant stressors exacerbates the detrimental effects of a primary stressor (McCubbin et al, 1996).…”

Effects of mediator competence and mediation process on user satisfaction with child custody, finances, and property outcomes

“…To minimize this risk, mediators should provide plenty of time and space for the parties to express their emotions and concerns through an open, organized, and rational communication process. In this way, it is hoped that parents can build a shared understanding of each other's concerns, which will reduce the psychological distress of both parents and children and even help the parents cooperate in parenting after divorce (Walton, Oliver, & Griffin, ). Similarly, in disputes on finance and property issues, mediators should pay great attention to the unequal earning power of men and women, which is a common situation in family households in Hong Kong (Census & Statistics, ).…”

Families and the legal system: Approaches to parental divorce and separation.

“…There is little evidence to suggest that mediation directly improves parent well-being (e.g., Emery, Laumann-Billings, Waldron, Sbarra, & Dillon, 2001;Walton, Oliver, & Griffin, 1999), and only limited (and mixed) evidence to suggest that mediation impacts child outcomes. For example, one study found that children reported decreased depressive symptoms in the month following their parents' mediation; however, the same study found no difference in parent-reported child psychological distress (Walton et al, 1999). Similarly, a follow-up to the Emery et al (1991) RCT found no difference in parent-reported child behavior problems between mediation and litigation groups (Kitzmann & Emery, 1994).…”

“…It is unclear whether it truly only has limited ability to directly impact children or whether researchers have not used the best methodologies to assess this outcome. For example, sometimes negative outcomes are more subtle than clinical-level psychopathology (e.g., child feelings of distance from father) and, as suggested by the Walton et al (1999) findings, sometimes child reports are better able to capture this nuance than parent reports.…”