Abstract
Integrating mediating and moderating variables into prevention research can refine interventions and guide program evaluation by demonstrating how and for whom programs work, as well as lending insight into the construct validity of an intervention. In this way, program development and evaluation strategies that incorporate mediation and moderation analyses contribute to our ability to affect behavioral change. This chapter aims to illustrate how mediation and moderation analyses enhance and inform prevention and intervention work. To that end we define and differentiate the models, discuss their application to prevention programming and research, and provide information on their estimation for individuals seeking to implement these analyses.
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Acknowledgement
Work reflected in this chapter was supported in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, under grant R01DA030349 awarded to the first author.
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Fairchild, A.J., MacKinnon, D.P. (2014). Using Mediation and Moderation Analyses to Enhance Prevention Research. In: Sloboda, Z., Petras, H. (eds) Defining Prevention Science. Advances in Prevention Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7424-2_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7424-2_23
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