IMPLICATIONS OF THE DIVORCE MEDIATION ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT FOR MEDIATION PRACTICE

In: Family court review: publ. in assoc. with: Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Band 29, Heft 1, S. 26-40

Abstract

The development of the Divorce Mediation Assessment Instrument (DMAI), based on six dimensions—commitment, social‐psychological factors, values, understanding, skills, and conflict—was in response to the need to systematically assess clients' readiness for divorce mediation and to inform and guide intervention. Tests on DMAI showed high reliability, and reasonable instrument validity. The implication of DMAI for mediation practice is discussed in terms of the various outputs of DMAI: DMAI score, subscale score, and item score. Issues in assessment raised included highlighting strengths, working on agreements, and preventive intervention. DMAI's implication for theory building and research is also discussed. Careful assessment is needed for appropriate use of mediation, and the DMAI provides a model of assessment which has clinical, empirical, and theoretical validity.