ABSTRACT
Conflicts within families, whether they occur between parents and teens over adjusting to clashing lifestyles, between adult siblings over caring for elderly parents, or between separating spouses over children or property, spotlight most vividly the advantages and the occasional pitfalls of negotiated or mediated settlements. Family disputes by definition involve people who will have continuing relationships, even when those relationships are restructured by divorce or by a child's leaving home. Disputes generally involve situations in which teenagers have misbehaved by failing to attend school, running away, or committing minor crimes. In view of the advantages of family mediation, it is ironic that by far the greatest growth in its use has been in connection with divorce. Although a few states require court-based mediators to have a master's degree in psychology, social work, or family counseling, there is no evidence that ties mediators' educational backgrounds to their performance.
