ArticleJournal of studies on alcohol and drugs2018
Reasons for Testing Mediation in the Absence of an Intervention Effect: A Research Imperative in Prevention and Intervention Research.
Article in Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06821035 (Teaching Youth & Families Self-Regulation Skills to Disrupt the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences), which is not on this map. Cited by 128 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Teaching Youth & Families Self-Regulation Skills to Disrupt the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences: Preventing Substance Use in Adversity- Impacted Youth
Who cites it
128 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Near transfer to an unrelated N-back task mediates the effect of N-back working memory training on matrix reasoning.Nature human behaviour · 2022Pooled it
- How do psychologically based interventions for chronic musculoskeletal pain work? A systematic review and meta-analysis of specific moderators and mediators of treatment.Clinical psychology review · 2022Pooled it
- A developmental cascade perspective of paediatric obesity: A systematic review of preventive interventions from infancy through late adolescence.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2020Pooled it
- The effects of fitspiration TikTok content on body image and mood among young adult women in the U.S.Body image · 2026Trial
- Mediating Pathways in Faith-Based Sexual Risk-Reduction for African American Adolescents: Insights from a Church-Based Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Trial
- Time-varying mediated effects of the nicotine patch on smoking before and after a quit attempt when it is added to varenicline and counseling.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Trial
- Family Check-Up Online: Effects of a Virtual Randomized Trial on Parent Stress, Parenting, and Child Outcomes in Early Adolescence.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2026Trial
- The Fuetsan Manhoben Curriculum: Effects on Risk Perceptions and Intentions Regarding Tobacco and Betel Nut Use Among Adolescents in Guam.Substance use & misuse · 2026Trial
- Improving mental health and well-being of hospital staff: mixed-methods process evaluation of the SEEGEN trial.BMC public health · 2025Trial
- Loneliness, Self-Efficacy and Adaptive Coping: Mixed Methods Analysis of Mediation in a Peer Support Intervention for Depression.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Evaluating mediators of the effect of varenicline preloading on smoking abstinence in a randomized controlled trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness and Mechanisms of a Digital Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Subthreshold to Clinical Insomnia Symptoms in Pregnant Women: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Cognitive Stimulation and Maternal Feeding Styles in Families with Low Incomes: Impacts from a Randomized Clinical Trial.Academic pediatrics · 2025Trial
- A randomized controlled trial of Golden Ratio, Feng Shui, and evidence based design in healthcare.PloS one · 2024Trial
- Are motivational and self-regulation factors associated with 12 months' weight regain prevention in the NoHoW study? An analysis of European adults.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2023Trial
- A Person-Centred Prehabilitation Program based on Cognitive Behavioural Physical Therapy for patients scheduled for Lumbar Fusion surgery: A mediation analysis to assess fear of movement (kinesiophobia), self-efficacy and catastrophizing as mediators of health outcomes.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2022Trial
- Intervention effects on self-control decrease speed of biological aging mediated by changes in substance use: A longitudinal study of African American youth.Family process · 2022Trial
- Parallel Changes in Positive Youth Development and Self-awareness: the Role of Emotional Self-regulation, Self-esteem, and Self-reflection.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2022Trial
- Differential mechanisms of change in motivational interviewing versus health education for smoking cessation induction.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2021Trial
- Using Novel Approaches to Evaluate Behavioral Interventions: Overlooked Significant HIV Prevention Effects in the HPTN 015 Project EXPLORE.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2021Trial
68 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
Abstract
objectiveMediation models are used in prevention and intervention research to assess the mechanisms by which interventions influence outcomes. However, researchers may not investigate mediators in the absence of intervention effects on the primary outcome variable. There is emerging evidence that in some situations, tests of mediated effects can be statistically significant when the total intervention effect is not statistically significant. In addition, there are important conceptual and practical reasons for investigating mediation when the intervention effect is nonsignificant.
methodThis article discusses the conditions under which mediation may be present when an intervention effect does not have a statistically significant effect and why mediation should always be considered important.
resultsMediation may be present in the following conditions: when the total and mediated effects are equal in value, when the mediated and direct effects have opposing signs, when mediated effects are equal across single and multiple-mediator models, and when specific mediated effects have opposing signs. Mediation should be conducted in every study because it provides the opportunity to test known and replicable mediators, to use mediators as an intervention manipulation check, and to address action and conceptual theory in intervention models.
conclusionsMediators are central to intervention programs, and mediators should be investigated for the valuable information they provide about the success or failure of interventions.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.