| The goals of the study were to assess the relationship between the attachment type of parents who have gone through family mediation and their satisfaction and ability to come to a resolution through the conflict resolution process, examine the relationship between adaptability and cohesion conceptualized as differentiation and family mediation outcome and satisfaction with the process, examine the impact of parents' emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress on mediation outcome and satisfaction with the process, assess the relationship between attachment type and adaptability and cohesion in parents who have gone through the process of family mediation, and to examine the relationship between attachment type and differentiation with prior related mediated and or litigated cases.; The study participants comprised of 23 males (47.9%) and 25 females (52.1%) with a mean age of 46 years. The mean number of marriages was 1.22 with a range of never married to three marriages. The results of the study are incongruent with prior research which stated that parents with secure attachments are more likely to have a successful outcome in the mediation process. Results indicated that those with secure attachment were less likely to come to a resolution in mediation although they failed to significantly relate insecure attachment, cohesion, adaptability, depression, stress, and anxiety to the outcome variables of resolution status, satisfaction and protracted conflict. The findings herein shed light on the impact of attachment on conflict resolution, extending the literature on dynamics and precursors (e.g. attachment type) that lead to the successful resolution of conflict in context of family mediation. The study has implications for professionals in the legal, dispute resolution and mental health fields who work with individuals or families undergoing the process of separation, child custody, visitation, and other related matters. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed. |
