What Works in Child Custody Mediation: Effectiveness of Various Mediator Behaviors on Immediate and Long-Term Outcomes

Abstract

This is the first family court study to observe mediators’ behaviors during mediation while also examining a broad range of attitudinal and case characteristic questions of participants before, immediately after, and six months after the mediation. Two hundred seventy participants and thirty mediators in 130 court cases were observed during court-connected child custody mediation. The impact of observed mediator strategies was measured against changes in participants’ attitudes (e.g., about the conflict, the courts, their ability to work with the other party), and on case outcomes. As a quasi-experimental design, regression analysis was used to control for pre-mediation attitudes and confounding factors. Mediator’s reflecting strategies were associated with positive outcomes for participants and their cases, whereas mediator’s directing strategies had significant negative effects. Proportionally greater time spent in caucus was associated with more negative attitudes among participants, even when controlling for relationship dynamics. The article considers implications for mediators and court mediation programs and suggests future research.

Keywords: mediation, alternative dispute resolution, ADR, child custody, family law, mediator behavior, empirical