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This study of 175 Mexican-origin families examined a mediational modal linking the linguistic acculturation of mothers and adolescents with a wide array of family mediators and adolescent mental health outcomes. Family linguistic acculturation, a latent construct based on maternal and adolescent acculturation, was positively related to increased family and interparental conflict but was not related to maternal parenting practices. Family conflict mediated the link between acculturation and two adolescent outcomes, conduct problems and depressive symptoms. Family acculturation showed a complex pattern of positive, indirect (mediated) and negative, direct effects on adolescent depressive symptoms. Findings are discussed in relation to traditional cultural values of Mexican heritage families and prevailing theories about why more acculturated Mexican-origin youth are at increased risk for problem behaviors. Key Words: acculturation, adolescence, conduct problems, depression, family conflict, Mexican, parenting.

Family court mediation offers a gateway for social work with children and families whose needs are left untouched by current services. Literature and research are drawn to review the relationship between family court and social work.

Mediation as a problem-solving intervention in social work became more widely used during the late 1970s to the 1980s in situations such as child custody and divorce, child-parent conflicts, and family disputes. The author argues that the mediator role is inherent in social work, and examines the context for the assumptions underlying it. The nature of conflicts, the issue of neutrality within the social work value base, and the power-retention qualities of mediation are also discussed.

This study investigated the mediations of ninety-seven community mediators in the People's Republic of China. The mediators' reports on two medications each -- one successful and one unsuccessful -- indicated the frequency with which they use twenty-seven mediation techniques. In addition, their information revealed the strategies -- assist, procedural, educate, and external reliance -- they employ in their mediations. It was found that Chinese mediators utilize the same techniques and strategies in successful versus nonsuccessful mediations; yet, their techniques and strategies differ in couple (husband-wife) as opposed to noncouple disputes.