Development of the attitude toward mediation scale

Abstract

AbstractMediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution that has been acclaimed for its effectiveness in reaching settlement—as well as relationship‐oriented goals, as well as for being faster and cheaper than a judicial procedure. However, despite mediation's rising popularity and use, the success of its uptake remains limited, with large local differences in implementation rates. While attitude has been regarded consistently as a predictor of behavior, researchers currently lack a reliable and validated way of assessing attitude toward mediation in the general population. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and psychometrically evaluate a measure to assess attitude toward mediation. The Attitude toward Mediation Scale (AMS) was developed by integrating the attitude and mediation literature and by adapting established attitude measures to reflect attitudes toward mediation. Based on data collected between April 15, 2021 and April 26, 2021 in 1220 Flemish adults (1004 women, 213 men, 3 nonbinary adults) between the ages of 18 and 80 (M = 42.57, SD = 14.51), results provided initial support for the reliability and construct validity of the AMS. In addition, while the attitude toward mediation was generally positive, results indicated that women reported more positive attitudes than men, and that as age, level of education, and knowledge of mediation increased, the attitude toward mediation was more positive. We hope this measure encourages future researchers to study the association between attitude toward mediation and its uptake, increasing the understanding of its varying implementation rates.