The lack of a systematic approach to the integration of theory and research limits the study, understanding, and practice of parent‐child mediation. This article critically reviews the research on parent‐child mediation to determine its merits and delineate the consistent and important findings it has produced. Both the consistent findings and some specific findings can be linked to relevant theory that may serve to elucidate our understanding of parent‐child mediation. The implications of the theory and research reviewed for the administration and practice of parent‐child mediation are discussed. This integrative approach provides the greatest potential for advancing the practice of parent‐child mediation.

To facilitate the mediation process and resolve family conflicts involving an adolescent optimally, practicing mediators must have a conceptual understanding and theoretical framework of adolescence. The purpose of this article is to review what we know about normative adolescent development, highlighting how adolescents generally cope with stressors and conflict and identifying effects of their development on family dynamics. Implications for practice are discussed by identifying key underlying developmental issues related to parent‐adolescent conflict. Examples of how the conceptual information presented can be integrated and used by parent‐adolescent mediators are provided.

The relationship among preintervention family functioning, conflict characteristics, and mediation outcome and subsequent family functioning was assessed in seventy parent‐child disputes. The Family Environment Scale (FES) profiles indicated that families were distressed, with high levels of dysfunction. Parents and adolescents had divergent perceptions of the conflict. Parental perception, especially that of mothers, was of greater seriousness of the problem related to positive mediation outcome. Positive changes on several FES subscales and overall client satisfaction with the process suggest that parent‐child mediation is an effective intervention modality for helping distressed families in conflict. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.