Supplemental Material for The Measurement of the Mediator and Its Influence on Statistical Mediation Conclusions

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Mediation

scholarly journals Analyzing Statistical Mediation with Multiple Informants: A New Approach with an Application in Clinical Psychology

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesther A. Papa ◽  
Kaylee Litson ◽  
Ginger Lockhart ◽  
Laurie Chassin ◽  
Christian Geiser
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Psychology ◽  
Multiple Informants ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Statistical Mediation

SAS Macros for Testing Statistical Mediation in Data With Binary Mediators or Outcomes

2008 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Srichand Jasti ◽  
William N. Dudley ◽  
Eva Goldwater
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Mediation

scholarly journals The Indirect Effect is Omitted Variable Bias: A Cautionary Note on the Interpretability of Significant Results in Non-Experimental Mediation Analyses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lennert Coenen
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Cautionary Note ◽  
Simple Fact ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Statistical Mediation ◽  
Omitted Variable Bias ◽  
Variable Bias

This paper intends to remind communication scientists that the indirect effect as estimated in mediation analyses is a statistical synonym for omitted variable bias (i.e., confounding or suppression). This simple fact questions the interpretability of statistically significant ‘indirect effects’ in observational designs: in social reality all variables correlate with each other to some extent - the so-called ‘crud factor’ - which means that omitted variable bias and ‘indirect effects’ at the population level are virtually guaranteed regardless of the actual variables involved in the statistical mediation model. As a result, there can be no inferential link between the observation of a significant indirect effect and a theoretical claim of mediation. Through this argument the paper hopes to cultivate a more critical attitude toward the interpretation of ‘indirect effects’ in observational communication science.

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