Mediation & Alternative Dispute Resolution


New findings about mediation and other alternative dispute resolution processes give insight about their effectiveness and application in legal systems around the world.

A more complete list of research report about divorce, remarriage and stepfamilies published in 2015 or between 2010-2015.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Kaspiew, R., Moloney, L., Dunstan, J., & De Maio, J. (2015). Family law court filings 2004-05 to 2012-13 (Research Report No. 30). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies. Read full publication

Trends in family law court filings over a nine year period provide insight about the impact of the court reforms that encouraged greater use of non-court mechanisms for resolving parenting disputes.  Results indicate a substantial decrease in court filings regarding child issues.  This report extends the findings of the 2009 study Evaluation of the 2006 Family Law Reforms.

Mediation

SABÄ‚U, D., & SANDU, C. (2015)  Mediation: Styles Used in Cases Concerning Divorce. Conflict Studies Quarterly, 55.  http://www.csq.ro/wp-content/uploads/CSQ-12.pdf#page=55

In Romania alternative dispute resolution for conflicts between divorcing, separated or divorced couples have expanded rapidly.  This work looks at the mediation process and how mediators think about their work.

Divorce Research Update– 6-29-2015


New ideas to consider in thinking about child support policy.  Too often we assume that over the past few decades we understand the economic consequences of divorce and that we have created appropriate policy responses regarding child support.  These 2 reports suggest that we still have much to learn.  Meyer and colleagues raise many questions about how child support laws are working and a report from the Australian Institute of Family Studies explores the variations in the economic circumstances of families in Australia, Germany, Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

A more complete list of research report about divorce, remarriage and stepfamilies published in 2015 or between 2010-2015.

Meyer, D. R., Cancian, M., & Chen, Y. (2015).  Why Are Child Support Orders Becoming Less Likely after Divorce?  Social Service Review.

Despite substantial policy attention to increasing the number of custodial parents
with child support orders, the proportion reporting that they are owed child support is falling.  Potential explanations for this include increases in shared custody, increases in the …

de Vaus, D., Gray, M., Qu, L., & Stanton, D. (March 2015).  The Economic Consequences of Divorce in Six OECD Countries, Research Report No. 31,  Australian Institute of Family Studies.  

This report presents a cross-national comparison of the short- and medium-term economic effects of divorce.  Estimates for men and women are derived from longitudinal data from Australia, Germany, Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

It details how the main sources of income for women change following divorce, and the relative contribution of these sources. The findings show that though divorce has a negative effect on the equivalent household incomes of women in all of these countries, the extent and duration of these negative effects differ markedly between the nations.

The report concludes by briefly considering the possible causes of these differences.