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FACTORS AFFECTING THE OUTCOME OF DIVORCE AND PATERNITY MEDIATIONS
Author(s) -
Ballard Robin H.,
HoltzworthMunroe Amy,
Applegate Amy G.,
D'Onofrio Brian
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
family court review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.171
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 1744-1617
pISSN - 1531-2445
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-1617.2010.01350.x
Subject(s) - mediation , family mediation , popularity , psychology , family law , lawyer supported mediation , social psychology , domestic relations , representation (politics) , child custody , criminology , developmental psychology , law , alternative dispute resolution , political science , politics , online dispute resolution
Divorce mediation, an alternative to litigation when resolving disputes raised by the dissolution of a marriage or the separation of unmarried parents, has gained popularity over the past few decades. Yet, research is needed to better understand what processes make family mediation successful and for whom family mediation is successful. To study predictors of reaching agreement in family mediation, we gathered data from divorce and paternity cases at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law Viola J. Taliaferro Family and Children Mediation Clinic. Numerous factors, including history of intimate partner violence, father's reported concerns about participating in mediation, higher levels of father's income, number of mediation sessions, and attorney representation, were associated with lower rates of agreement. Associations between significant predictors are presented, as well as the combined impact of attorney representation and a history of relationship violence, which together significantly predicted lower agreement rates. The implications of these findings for understanding family mediation processes are considered.