Child custody mediation and litigation: further evidence on the differing views of mothers and fathers.

An earlier study was replicated in which parents were randomly assigned to negotiate child custody disputes either in mediation or through the adversary system. In both the initial study (Emery & Wyer, 1987a) and the present replication, mediation greatly reduced the frequency of custody hearings, allowed settlements to be reached in half the time, and substantially improved the satisfaction reported by fathers. Considerably fewer differences were found for mothers who used the alternative forms of dispute resolution, however. Some differences found in both studies favored the women who litigated. No consistent differences in the psychological adjustment of mothers or fathers who mediated or litigated emerged across the two studies. Although careful consideration of findings argues against the conclusion that mediation is "good" for fathers and "bad" for mothers, findings point to the conflicting perspectives of men and women who contest child custody.