Research in family mediation: Review and implications

Abstract

The rising popularity and prominence of family mediation has meant increasing research attention. In this article, the authors review fifty‐one studies in terms of three categories of research focus: process, outcomes, and predictors of mediated agreement. The authors conclude that family mediation is an effective and efficient service technology that, at its best, can be more helpful than litigation in assisting divorcing couples in conflict. The implications of this conclusion are examined for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.

The Parental Alliance Following Divorce: An Overview

“…However, if a parenting model-such as that described by Ahrons (1 994), which includes adequate boundaries as well as adequate communication-is available to them, with help they may be able to respond effectively to the challenge of developing constructive two-household parenting environments for their children. For these families, presumptive mediation policies and court-connected parent education programs increase the opportunities to learn techniques that increase their capacity to problem-solve, focus on relevant issues, exert some selfcontrol, and find some empathy (Benjamin & Irving, 1995;Kelly, 1996). As these exspouses share parenting they need more formalized rules and routines than the more cooperative families do.…”

“…Generally the courts in the United States that have mandatory mediation programs require only parenting issues to be discussed in mediation (Benjamin & Irving, 1995;Kelly, 1996). However, in private mediation when the family is addressing both property and parenting agreements, both parents have the opportunity to face realistically what their budgets and resources are.…”

“…Research on the parental alliance has not explored the effects of property and support arrangements on the power differential between parents, the commitment to mutual continuing responsibility, and the level of hostility or continuing cooperation. There is some evidence that mediated agreements are not different from litigated agreements in levels of child support or in property distribution (Benjamin & Irving, 1995;Kelly, 1996). However, mediated agreements tend to be perceived by clients as more fair.…”

Professional and traditional collaboration in the mediation of family conflicts: The case of ethiopian immigrants in Israel

“…Although the use of mediation in family disputes is relatively new to the Israeli professional scene (Cohen and Dattner, 19951, structured models of mediation have been evolving and increasing in popularity since the early 1970s (Grebe, 1994). In the United States, there is already a rich body of knowledge describing the different methodologies, schemes, and processes used by family mediators, as well as information regarding their efficacy and predictors of favorable and unfavorable outcomes (Benjamin and Irving, 1995). Many of the models described in the literature are based on concepts and values that are easily transferable across cultures.…”

Cognitive roles in the mediation process: Development of the mediation inventory for cognitive roles assessment

“…Despite the growing popularity of mediation, there is very little research available on the process of mediation (Irving and Benjamin, 1992). Benjamin and Irving (1995), in a comprehensive review of research on mediation, found only a handful of process studies. Several of these studied the behaviors of mediators that contributed to med?ation success or failure (Carnevale, Lim, and McLaughlin, 1989;Donohue, Lyles, and Rogan, 1989;Donohue, Drake, and Roberto, 1994).…”