Family Conflict Mediation

integrative review of dissertations and theses

Abstract

The article aimed to understand how family conflict mediation is investigated in the Brazilian scientific literature, through an integrative review from the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD), during the periodbetween 2010 and 2020. Sixteen dissertations and nine theses were analyzed. Most of them came from Graduate Programs in Law (n = 10) and Psychology (n = 5), originating from institutions in the state of São Paulo (n = 8) and were published in the years 2013, 2016 and 2017 (n = 4 for each year). Thirteen studies were empirical, 12 were theoretical and, among the empirical studies, all were qualitative. Four categories of analysis were identified: a) the function of family conflict mediation; b) the interdisciplinary study of family conflict mediation; c) the application of mediation to different demands; and d) the evaluation of family conflict mediation programs. This is, without a doubt, a very fruitful field to which Psychology has much to contribute, especially for the systemic understanding of family conflicts, by considering the intersubjective, relational, and complex dimensions.