Divorce mediation: The impact of mediation on the psychological well-being of children and parents

This study evaluated levels of psychological distress experienced by children (aged 4-16) and parents at the beginning of and one month after mediation for child-related disputes. In contrast to previous research, this study employed both child-and parent-reports of child outcome. Mediation was associated with reductions in child-reported, though not parent-reported, child psychological distress and with reductions in parent-reports of their own psychological distress. The negotiation of successful agreements in mediation was not related to improved psychological well-being of family members. The difficulties encountered (i.e. small numbers, low response rate) render the results tentative. Implications of the findings for future research are discussed.