Revolution and Reassessment

Research in family mediation: Review and implications

“…A related distinction derives from our discussion of predfctors of outcome, which supports a multivariate model of mediation. That is, mediation, both in terms of process and outcome, involves interaction among several classes of variables: (1) the personality and other individual characteristics of clients; (2) the prevailing patterns of family interaction, especially patterns of conflict resolution as well as the number, nature, and severity of the issues in dispute; (3) the demographic characteristics of client families, especially social class and ethnicity (see Irving and Benjamin, 1995); (4) the characteristics of the mediation forum, that is, whether it operates in the public or private domain, and its espoused model of service, including objectives of service (agreement regarding child custody and access, or a comprehensive agreement), the number of service sessions and hours of service, and, as in TFM, the number and types of service phases; ( 5 ) the characteristics of the mediation practitioners offering service, especially whether their professional training is primarily in the law or the mental health or human services fields, whether service is offered by a single practitioner or takes the form of comediation, and whether service is offered to a single couple or groups of couples; (6) the local statutory regime, especially the extent to which it constrains the range of options open to mediation practitioners; and (7) the characteristics of other actors involved with the family at the time of intake, such as new partners, extended kin, and various professionals, especially the extent to which they take "sides" in the dispute between the spouses.…”

“…Part One: Process Studies. Ideally, process studies indicate (1) what sorts of behaviors of mediators (2) have what sorts of effects (3) with what sorts of client couples (d) in what sorts of contexts. Available studies fall short of this ideal but still enhance our understanding of what actually occurs in mediation.…”