A randomized controlled trial comparing family mediation with and without motivational interviewing

Area of Science:

• Family Psychology
• Conflict Resolution
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Family mediation is crucial for separated parents resolving child custody disputes in Australia.
• Many parents do not reach agreements through standard mediation processes.
• Motivational interviewing (MI) is a potential enhancement for mediation effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of motivational interviewing-enhanced family mediation (MI) with mediation as usual (MAU).
• To assess the impact of MI on agreement rates, parental psychological distress, coparental attachment, child adjustment, and conflict.
• To evaluate outcomes in a real-world community mediation setting.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 177 separated-parent dyads.
• Participants were randomized to receive either MI-enhanced mediation or MAU.
• Outcomes measured included mediation agreement, psychological distress, attachment, child adjustment, and coparental conflict pre- and post-mediation, with follow-up.

Main Results:

• MI-enhanced mediation achieved double the rate of full agreements compared to MAU (33% vs. 16%).
• MI also resulted in a lower rate of no agreement (33% vs. 42%).
• No significant differences were found between MI and MAU for psychological distress, attachment, child adjustment, or coparental conflict.

Conclusions:

• Motivational interviewing shows promise in enhancing agreement rates within family mediation for separated parents.
• Further research is warranted to explore MI's potential and address implementation challenges.
• While MI improved agreement, its impact on other psychosocial outcomes requires further investigation.