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Current findings on Australian children in postseparation disputes: Outer conflict, inner discord
Jennifer McIntosh
Senior Consultant and Director, Family Transitions; Director, Children-in-Focus Program, Australian Institute for Primary Care, La Trobe University; Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Public Health, La Trobe University, VIC
Caroline Long
Children in Focus Research Program, La Trobe University, VIC
Abstract
This paper sets out descriptive baseline data on the first 111 Australian families participating in a current study of the efficacy of childfocused and child-inclusive Family Law Mediation.
The families come from the first of two treatment groups in that comparative study. While outcome data are not yet available on this group, the baseline data, gathered prior to intervention, are of interest and value.
The paper describes the nature of parents' conflict with each other, the strength of their parental alliance, and the psychological functioning of their children at the time of presentation to the mediation service. High mental health risk for the children in these families is evident, both from parents' and children's perspectives.
Uniquely, the paper includes the perceptions of 73 children about their parents' conflict and its impact on them. Implications are discussed, underscoring the imperative of early intervention with separating families that includes screening of the children's experience of conflict and their own needs for recovery.
Keywords
children, divorce, conflict, mediation, research
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