ReviewFrontiers in psychology2017
On the Interpretation and Use of Mediation: Multiple Perspectives on Mediation Analysis.
Review in Frontiers in psychology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 132 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
132 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A systematic review of mediation analysis frameworks in studies examining the determinants of cardiometabolic outcomes in people living with HIV.BMC medical research methodology · 2025Pooled it
- An individual participant data meta-analysis investigating the mediating role of eating behavior traits in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-based weight management interventions.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Deconstructing pathways to resilience: A systematic review of associations between psychosocial mechanisms and transdiagnostic adult mental health outcomes in the context of adverse childhood experiences.Clinical psychology & psychotherapy · 2022Pooled it
- Training Parameters and Adaptations That Mediate Walking Capacity Gains from High-Intensity Gait Training Poststroke.Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2025Trial
- Effects of the DAGIS randomized controlled trial on home environment and children's food consumption according to the degree of implementation.BMC public health · 2022Trial
- Liver function markers predict cardiovascular and renal outcomes in the CANVAS Program.Cardiovascular diabetology · 2022Trial
- A mindfulness-based mobile health (mHealth) intervention among psychologically distressed university students in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of counseling psychology · 2022Trial
- Chronic disease burden among Latino farmworkers in California.Frontiers in public health · 2022Trial
- Intervening on Trust in Science to Reduce Belief in COVID-19 Misinformation and Increase COVID-19 Preventive Behavioral Intentions: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Trial
- Indirect Effects of a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention on Adolescent Weight and Insulin Resistance Through Decreasing Depression in a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pediatric psychology · 2019Trial
- Devaluation underlies gendered US faculty departures across disciplines and institutions.PNAS nexus · 2026Article
- Health literacy and therapeutic adherence: a network and mediation analysis in dyslipidemic outpatients.Internal and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Testing a social mechanism of recovery high schools: Peer affiliation as a mediator of substance use outcomes.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Article
- Appropriate translational designs for determining causal force-based (manual therapy) treatment mechanisms.Musculoskeletal science & practice · 2026Review
- Adolescent wellbeing is associated with positive outcomes in early adulthood in a sibling comparison study.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Do white matter hyperintensities account for the relationship between discrimination and memory?Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Indirect associations between adolescent ADHD and/or oppositional defiant disorder symptoms and adult incomes: the mediating roles of education and co-occurring psychiatric disorders.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- What leads to vaccine compliance? Evidence from healthcare workers.Journal of public health research · 2026Article
- Cognitive-psychological mechanisms and decision-making in later life: the role of wealth perception capability.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
72 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Mediation analysis has become a very popular approach in psychology, and it is one that is associated with multiple perspectives that are often at odds, often implicitly. Explicitly discussing these perspectives and their motivations, advantages, and disadvantages can help to provide clarity to conversations and research regarding the use and refinement of mediation models. We discuss five such pairs of perspectives on mediation analysis, their associated advantages and disadvantages, and their implications: with vs. without a mediation hypothesis, specific effects vs. a global model, directness vs. indirectness of causation, effect size vs. null hypothesis testing, and hypothesized vs. alternative explanations. Discussion of the perspectives is facilitated by a small simulation study. Some philosophical and linguistic considerations are briefly discussed, as well as some other perspectives we do not develop here.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.