Defining High Conflict

Anderson, Shayne R.; Anderson, Stephen A.; Palmer, Kristi L.; Mutchler, Matthew S.; Baker, Louisa K.

doi:10.1080/01926187.2010.530194

Cited by 71 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In their comprehensive reviews of the divorce research literature, Anderson, Anderson, Palmer, Mutchler, and Baker (2011) and Stewart (2001) found no consensus on the definition of high conflict. This lack of definitional clarity has led to considerable confusion among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Entrenched Postseparation Parenting Disputes: The Role of Interparental Hatred?

Smyth¹,

Moloney²

2017

Family Court Review

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There is an emerging view that the term “high conflict” oversimplifies the nature of destructive family dynamics, especially with respect to the small but resource‐intensive group of separated parents who remain deeply enmeshed in legal battles and parental acrimony. In this Article we propose that interparental hatred may be a key relationship dynamic driving the behavior of some in this group. We suggest a distinction between two types of interparental hatred: one that arises from responses to separation‐related stresses (reactive hatred) and the other (entrenched hatred) that is indicative of more embedded, dysfunctional interpersonal dynamics and/or personality structures. While reactive hatred is typically time limited and amenable to professional intervention, entrenched hatred tends to overwhelm rationally informed attempts to mediate, negotiate, or even adhere to orders regarding suitable parenting arrangements. We contend that while effective intervention in these cases requires all the generic skills and responses necessary for dealing with highly conflicted disputes, it is also important to name and appropriately challenge interparental hatred when it is detected.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Entrenched Postseparation Parenting Disputes: The Role of Interparental Hatred?

Smyth¹,

Moloney²

2017

Family Court Review

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“…Experienced mediators easily identified the couples who struggled during the first session. This questions the necessity to screen out different categories of divorcing couples before mediation, an idea that has often been advocated in the field of mediation (Anderson, Anderson, Palmer, Mutchler, & Baker, ; Ballard & Beck, ). Realizing that you are meeting a couple who is really striving to cope with the situation is quite different from trying to determine whether the couple belongs to one category or another.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High‐conflict parents in mediation: An analysis of dialogues and sources to conflict

Gulbrandsen

Haavind

Tjersland

2018

Conflict Resolution Qtrly

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A significant proportion of parents in mediation present destructive and escalating conflicts. In a naturalistic study of sessions with high-conflict couples, we observed dialogues with frequent interruptions, rapidly shifting subjects, and emotional attacks. A systematic search revealed eight distinct sources of conflict that interfered with the mediation process: Two related to the breakup, four regarding differing concerns of care for the child, and two mainly about the contextual conditions for childcare arrangements. The article describes these sources of conflicts in a format that could increase the capacity of mediators to recognize and address them during the process of mediation.

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“…Many of the relational correlates of high conflict interactions, such as a lack of effective conflict resolution skills, negative attributions about partner behavior, and anger are also risk factors associated with intimate partner abuse (IPA) 1 (O'Leary, Smith, Slep & O'Leary, 2000). IPA also carries a high rate of overlap with child maltreatment (emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse) (Anderson et al, 2011;Hamby, Finkelhor, Turner & Ormrod, 2010). The documented incidence rates of overlap vary from 30 percent to 60 percent, depending on the methods used to collect the data (National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information, 2004;O'Leary et al, 2000).…”

Section: Definition Of High Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological and Biological Processes in Children Associated with High Conflict Parental Divorce

Davidson¹,

O’Hara²,

Beck³

2014

Juvenile Family Court J

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Several factors impact a child's adjustment after a parental divorce; a well‐established one is the level of parental conflict during and after a divorce. Research is beginning to investigate the biological mechanisms that may be impacted by childhood trauma in general and parental high conflict specifically. This paper reviews the existing research concerning the relationship between exposure to high parental conflict/trauma and the biological stress response system (the hypothalamic‐pituitary adrenocortical axis and the sympathetic nervous system), sleep, and psychological maladjustment. We propose a conceptual model linking biological and psychological responses and discuss suggestions for future research.

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Defining High Conflict

Cited by 71 publications

References 39 publications

Entrenched Postseparation Parenting Disputes: The Role of Interparental Hatred?

Entrenched Postseparation Parenting Disputes: The Role of Interparental Hatred?

High‐conflict parents in mediation: An analysis of dialogues and sources to conflict

Psychological and Biological Processes in Children Associated with High Conflict Parental Divorce

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