PARTIES' EVALUATIONS OF THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR MEDIATORS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN A COURT-CONNECTED MEDIATION PROGRAM

The Franklin County, Ohio, domestic court instituted a mediation program in 1989. An analysis was completed on data provided by a brief postmediation survey evaluating participants' mediation experiences. The data indicated that 63.3% of participants felt satisfied or very satisfied with the relationship they had with their mediators, and 51.6% of the participants thought they made progress in their mediation sessions. Multiple regression analyses were used to identify several factors associated with the parties' level of satisfaction with their mediator relationships and their assessment of progress in mediation. These analyses go beyond a descriptive reporting of the data and toward an exploration of the important antecedents of satisfaction and progress in divorce mediation. It is of interest to note that participants' gender and the cost of mediation were not related to the parties' assessments of progress and satisfaction.