{"title":"An alternative framework for nonexperimental cross-sectional mediation studies: Associational variable analysis.","authors":"Carl F Weems","doi":"10.1037/met0000774","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite strong evidence of its logical and empirical problems, there remains a veritable eruption of mediational studies using nonexperimental cross-sectional data (NECSD). At best, such studies can say little about true mediation and at worse can create an inaccurate picture of the conclusions from the data. This article overviews the reasons to not frame NECSD studies as mediational and articulates reasons why it may continue despite solid reasons to stop. Associational variable analysis is introduced as an alternative framework to help articulate a more accurate depiction of findings. Articulation of the steps, examples of conducting the steps, and framing findings are provided from an empirical data set. Associational variable analysis is an alternative conceptual framework drawing on the analytic techniques developed for mediation but provides a more accurate framework for the articulation of findings from NECSD studies with mediational-type goals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20782,"journal":{"name":"Psychological methods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychological methods","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000774","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Despite strong evidence of its logical and empirical problems, there remains a veritable eruption of mediational studies using nonexperimental cross-sectional data (NECSD). At best, such studies can say little about true mediation and at worse can create an inaccurate picture of the conclusions from the data. This article overviews the reasons to not frame NECSD studies as mediational and articulates reasons why it may continue despite solid reasons to stop. Associational variable analysis is introduced as an alternative framework to help articulate a more accurate depiction of findings. Articulation of the steps, examples of conducting the steps, and framing findings are provided from an empirical data set. Associational variable analysis is an alternative conceptual framework drawing on the analytic techniques developed for mediation but provides a more accurate framework for the articulation of findings from NECSD studies with mediational-type goals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
期刊介绍：
Psychological Methods is devoted to the development and dissemination of methods for collecting, analyzing, understanding, and interpreting psychological data. Its purpose is the dissemination of innovations in research design, measurement, methodology, and quantitative and qualitative analysis to the psychological community; its further purpose is to promote effective communication about related substantive and methodological issues. The audience is expected to be diverse and to include those who develop new procedures, those who are responsible for undergraduate and graduate training in design, measurement, and statistics, as well as those who employ those procedures in research.
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