ANTECEDENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF CAUCUSING IN COMMUNITY MEDIATION

This observational and interview study investigated the role of caucusing (private meetings between the mediator and a disputant) in community mediation. The results from 73 cases at two mediation centers indicate that mediators are more likely to caucus when disputants have a history of escalation,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The International journal of conflict management 1992-04, Vol.3 (4), p.303-317
Main Authors: Welton, Gary L, Pruitt, Dean G, McGillicuddy, Neil B, Ippolito, Carol A, Zubek, Jo M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Community
Mediation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This observational and interview study investigated the role of caucusing (private meetings between the mediator and a disputant) in community mediation. The results from 73 cases at two mediation centers indicate that mediators are more likely to caucus when disputants have a history of escalation, are hostile toward each other during the hearing, and fail to engage in joint problem solving. Caucus sessions were found to discourage direct hostility between the disputants but to encourage indirect hostility. There was also evidence that caucus sessions foster disputant flexibility and problem solving between the disputant and the mediator. However, no relationship was found between the occurrence or nature of caucusing and the likelihood of agreement or the quality of the mediated outcome.
ISSN:1044-4068
1758-8545
DOI:10.1108/eb022717