Date:         Mon, 7 Oct 2002 19:07:46 -0500
Reply-To:     Ben Earnhart <bearnhar@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu>
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Ben Earnhart <bearnhar@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu>
Subject:      Re: Moderator variables
Comments: To: Susan Crawford <Susan.Crawford@calgaryhealthregion.ca>
In-Reply-To:  <3DA21C94.567462D7@calgaryhealthregion.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

I googled for you (
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=mediator+vs%2E+moderator+variable
) and came up with some pretty helpful stuff.  Basically, the way I
understand it, if it's a moderator, then you use the interaction term, as
one variable conditions the effect of the other; with a mediator, you do
two models to see if the effect of x1 goes to zero when controlling for x2,
or better yet, use a SEM.

I'd think that the person would really want to clarify theoretically which
approach to use a priori, before starting to model.

At 05:45 PM 10/7/2002 -0600, Susan Crawford wrote:
>Hi, everyone.
>
>One of our graduate students is trying to use a logistic regression
>approach to determine whether or not parenting stress is a predictor of
>attachment (secure or insecure) in children.  She thinks that social
>support will act as a buffer or moderating variable that may decrease
>the effects of parenting stress.
>
>I'm not sure of what approach we should take here.  Should we enter the
>social support variable on the first step of the logistic regression,
>followed by the three parenting stress scores on the second step? Or
>should we be looking at interactions between the parenting stress scores
>and social support?
>
>I'm getting confused on the issue of whether or not to consider social
>support as a mediator variable or a moderator variable.
>
>Many thanks for your help.
>
>--
>Susan Crawford, M.Sc.
>Research Coordinator
>Behavioural Research Unit
>Alberta Children's Hospital

*=======================================================
*Ben Earnhart
*Computer Consultant and ICPSR Data Assistant
*Department of Sociology and College of Liberal Arts
*University of Iowa
*(319) 335-2887
*bearnhar@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu
*=======================================================;