NCJ Number
141276
Journal
Mediation Quarterly Volume: 10 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1992) Pages: 193-208
Date Published
1992
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Research on parent-child mediation is reviewed critically to identify its merits and present its consistent and important findings and to link these findings to available relevant theory as a basis for understanding and explaining the effectiveness of mediation in resolving parent-adolescent conflict.
Abstract
The findings from research on the impact of mediation on future relationships among family members offer support for the conclusion that parent-child mediation can be an effective intervention modality for helping distressed families in conflict. Studies that use traditional program evaluation criteria report similar rates of successful resolution of the cases referred to mediation. The studies reviewed consistently identify improvement on one or more indices of family interaction, namely, manageability of the child, occurrence of family conflict, communication, expressiveness, independence, and achievement. Overall, the research results suggest that mediation can resolve specific disputes and also produce a positive impact on the general quality of family interactions. Further, mediation may accomplish this more effectively than standard criminal justice approaches. 34 references