NCJ Number
98063
Date Published
1984
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This paper describes mediator and spousal behaviors during mediation through an anlysis of audio tapes of custody/visitation mediations conducted at the Los Angeles Conciliation Court, the Family Division of the Connecticut Superior Court, and the Domestic Relations Division of Hennepin County (Minn.) between May and July 1982.
Abstract
The final sample of taped mediation sessions that were coded and anlyzed include 2 from Minneapolis, 23 from Connecticut, and 55 from California. Of these cases, 51 (64 percent) achieved some level of success through the mediation process. As tapes were collected from the sites, they were assigned identification numbers and coded by means of the Mediation Process Analysis (MPA). The MPA requires that at 2-minute intervals, eight units of speech -defined as an independent clause -- be coded along five different dimensions: who is speaking, target of the message, whether this unit is a statement or question, the tone of the message, and the content of the statement. The content codes consist of 32 specific behaviors which are believed to capture the full range of statements made during the sessions. Analysis reveals that mediators play key roles as neutrals. Further, in cases that settle, mediators engage in more behaviors to consolidate agreements, spend less time coaching spouses, and make fewer attributions about what others think or feel. None of the composite measures of spousal behaviors distinguishes between cases that settle and cases that do not. Six tables, 1 figure, and 27 references are included.