IJMPR Didactic Paper: Weighting for Causal Inference in Mental Health Research

IF 2.4 3区医学 Q2 PSYCHIATRY

International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research Pub Date : 2025-04-01 DOI:10.1002/mpr.70018

Eric R. Cohn, José R. Zubizarreta

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

Inverse probability weighting is a fundamental and general methodology for estimating the causal effects of exposures and interventions, but standard approaches to constructing such weights are often suboptimal.

Methods

In this paper, we describe a recent approach for constructing such weights that directly balances covariates while optimizing the stability of the resulting weighting estimator.

Results

To illustrate the use of this approach in mental health research, we present an exploratory study of the effects of exposure to violence on the risk of suicide attempt.

Conclusions

The direct balancing approach to weighting should be given strong consideration in empirical research due to its robustness and transparency in building weighting estimators.

Abstract Image

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目的反概率加权法是估算暴露和干预措施因果效应的一种基本通用方法，但构建此类权重的标准方法往往不够理想。方法在本文中，我们介绍了一种最新的构建此类权重的方法，该方法可直接平衡协变量，同时优化由此产生的权重估计器的稳定性。结果为了说明这种方法在心理健康研究中的应用，我们介绍了一项关于暴力暴露对自杀未遂风险影响的探索性研究。结论由于直接平衡加权法在构建加权估计器时具有稳健性和透明度，因此在实证研究中应重点考虑这种方法。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

5.20

自引率

6.50%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research (MPR) publishes high-standard original research of a technical, methodological, experimental and clinical nature, contributing to the theory, methodology, practice and evaluation of mental and behavioural disorders. The journal targets in particular detailed methodological and design papers from major national and international multicentre studies. There is a close working relationship with the US National Institute of Mental Health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Diagnostic Instruments Committees, as well as several other European and international organisations. MPR aims to publish rapidly articles of highest methodological quality in such areas as epidemiology, biostatistics, generics, psychopharmacology, psychology and the neurosciences. Articles informing about innovative and critical methodological, statistical and clinical issues, including nosology, can be submitted as regular papers and brief reports. Reviews are only occasionally accepted. MPR seeks to monitor, discuss, influence and improve the standards of mental health and behavioral neuroscience research by providing a platform for rapid publication of outstanding contributions. As a quarterly journal MPR is a major source of information and ideas and is an important medium for students, clinicians and researchers in psychiatry, clinical psychology, epidemiology and the allied disciplines in the mental health field.