Abstract
Introduction: Studies have shown that constant conflicts between parents have a negative impact on children’s well-being. The No Kids in the Middle method is used in divorces marked by conflict. The method aims to improve the safety of a life situation harmful to children by reducing the conflict between the parents, their negative and hostile attitudes towards each other and the disapproval of the former partner in the parents’ social network. (Visser & Van Lawick, 2021).
Research question: Does the No Kids in the Middle method have an impact on safeguarding the preconditions for the well-being of 4-18-year-old children in conflicted divorce situations in the Finnish context?
Data and methods: The literature search was carried out using the Population, Concept, Context (PCC) search strategy typical for literature reviews with a focus on the question: What research has been conducted on the No Kids in the Middle method? The used search terms were: P = High conflict divorce families with children aged 4–18, C = No Kids in the Middle, C = healthcare, social welfare, third sector. The primary focus of interest of the literature search was on impact studies on the method, although studies using other research designs were also included. A systematic literature search was carried out in six databases: MEDLINE, APA PsycInfo, CINAHL, ERIC, Web of Science and Scopus databases and was complemented by a manual search.
Results: According to the assessment, the description and theoretical background of the No Kids in the Middle method were sufficient. The three articles found in the literature search were non-Nordic Dutch and British impact studies. No Finnish or Nordic impact studies were found on the No Kids Left in the Middle method, but according to an exploratory impact study carried out in the Netherlands (Lange et al., 2023), the preliminary results are promising. According to the study, parents are able to advance to parallel parenting, which involves fewer conflicts and disapproval of the social network than previously, even though the parents did not change their views of their ex-partner’s behaviour.
Overall assessment: There is little documented evidence (3/5) of the use of the No Kids in the Middle method in the Finnish context. While there is no evidence of the impacts of the method in Finland or the Nordic countries, according to an exploratory impact study carried out in the Netherlands (Lange et al., 2023), the preliminary results are promising. Further research is needed on the impacts of the method. The implementation readiness and support of the method from the perspective of the method is implemented in less than one third (3/10) of the areas.