Post-divorce wellbeing in Flanders: Facilitative professionals and quality of arrangements matter

Abstract

Expanding on current advancement in divorce and family dispute resolution research, an integrative and process-oriented model is presented This article explores the extent to which, and how, individual, trajectory, and arrangement factors are related to post-divorce personal wellbeing. Questionnaire data were collected from a sample of 423 individuals who divorced through mediation or litigation. A subsample of 112 respondents provided extra information on the personal qualities of divorce professionals. A series of multiple regression analysis demonstrated that: (1) gender, (2) experienced facilitative problem solving behaviors and the Rogerian personal qualities of professionals, and (3) the quality of divorce arrangements all directly relate to post-divorce wellbeing. No significant associations emerged for other individual characteristics (i.e., age, having children or not, pre-divorce conflict levels, relationship duration, initiator-status), or trajectory features (i.e., type of professional and type of legal procedure). Path analytic procedures did not show any indirect effect from problem solving behaviors or Rogerian attitudes of lawyers and mediators on post-divorce wellbeing through its effect on the quality of divorce arrangements. The implications for mediation practice are discussed.

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