Suchergebnisse

AbstractThis study examines the effect of mediation on the use of court and police resources. Using self‐reported data on cases that were mediated compared to cases not mediated, this research finds that participants in mediated cases are likely to decrease their use of court and law enforcement after mediation compared to participants in cases not mediated. This study uses the Heckman two‐step model to respond to the possibility of selection bias and finds that the effect of mediation holds true even when accounting for possible selection bias.

This article reviews the experience of community mediation centers over the last ten years, including a review of the literature and national surveys of centers and volunteers. From this literature review, a new survey was created to examine how effectively community mediation centers are meeting the social change vision and the needs of their communities. The results show success and creativity in some areas and struggles in others. The article concludes with a discussion of community mediation values and emerging areas of practice, as well as a recommendation for a research agenda.

AbstractThis article presents research related to community mediation, specifically the factors affecting individuals' choices to accept or decline participation in the mediation process. Alongside a growing literature that emphasizes the significant benefits of mediation, this empirical study finds that individuals involved in personal relationships are more likely than individuals involved in business relationships to choose mediation. This data also finds a nonlinear and significant relationship between the length of time a conflict has been going on and participants' choice to use mediation. Finally, this article finds a significant and nonlinear relationship between differences in perception about the length of a conflict and whether a case is scheduled for mediation. Policy recommendations include suggestions to increase the use of mediation by responding directly to the cases that do not seem as likely to be mediated.

AbstractDoes a mediator's stated approach (Facilitative, Inclusive, Transformative) predict their behavior at the mediation table? This question is explored through analysis of 149 cases from District Court day of trial mediation in four Maryland jurisdictions and 156 Circuit Court Family Division court‐referred custody and visitation mediation cases in three Maryland jurisdictions. Through factor analysis and multiple regression analysis, this research found a mediator's stated approach does not fully predict their behavior at the mediation table, and that some self‐reported approaches are more predictive of certain actual mediator behaviors (e.g., reflecting, eliciting, offering opinions) than others.

AbstractThis empirical study explores the effects of matching mediators and mediation participants by gender and by racial or ethnic identity group. It considers both the effect on a participant of being present in a mediation session where there is no mediator of the same gender or racial/ethnic group and the effect of being present when there is also a mediator who matches the gender or race/ethnicity of the other participant. The results show that failing to match disputants and mediators by gender has negative effects on mediation satisfaction measures and that those effects increase when the mediator's gender also matches that of the other participant. In contrast, failure to match by racial or ethnic group has little effect, but when an unmatched participant faces both an opposing participant and a mediator who share a racial or ethnic identification, mediation satisfaction decreases in several respects.

AbstractThis research examines "what works" in small claims court alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes. Using a comprehensive quasi‐experimental design that combines real‐time behavioral observation of authentic small claims court ADR sessions with pre‐ and postintervention questionnaires, the study measures the immediate and long‐term impact of various strategies by third‐party neutrals on party attitudes and case outcomes. Eliciting participant solutions had the broadest range of positive impacts. Greater percentage of time spent in caucus was associated with negative outcomes. Reflecting had short‐term positive associations and neutral offering solutions had long‐term negative associations.

This study uses behavioral observation and pre‐and post‐mediation questionnaires to measure the impact of mediator behaviors on participant attitudes and case outcomes in 130 court‐connected custody mediations involving 270 participants and 30 mediators. As a quasi‐experimental design, regression analysis controlled for a broad range of participant attitudinal and case characteristics. Mediator reflecting and eliciting strategies were associated with positive outcomes, while directing strategies had significant negative effects. Proportionally greater time spent in caucus was associated with increased participant trust in the mediator but more negative attitudes among participants. The article considers implications for mediators and court mediation programs.

This study compares the experience of small claims litigants who use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to those who proceed to trial without ADR. ADR had significant immediate and long‐term benefits, including improved party attitudes toward and relationship with each other, greater sense of empowerment and voice, increases in parties taking responsibility for the dispute, and increases in party satisfaction with the judiciary. Cases that settled in ADR also were less likely to return to court for an enforcement action within the next year.

AbstractThis article reports on two studies. The analysis of the first study, a survey of 250 mediators, finds four distinct groups of mediator "clusters," based on self‐reported strategies. These four clusters are described in detail and mediators' self‐defined labels are then correlated with the four clusters. There is little consistency between the labels mediators give their approach and the cluster into which they actually fall in this survey. The analysis of the second study, which involved observation and coding of actual mediations, finds that those mediators who were observed to use any directive strategies tended to use mostly directive strategies and those mediators who were observed to use any elicitive strategies tended to use mostly elicitive strategies throughout the observed mediation case. This challenges the notion that mediators may use both directive and elicitive strategies together in the same mediation.