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AIDS and Behavior
Published in: AIDS and Behavior 3/2007

01-05-2007 | Review Paper

Mediational Analysis in HIV/AIDS Research: Estimating Multivariate Path Analytic Models in a Structural Equation Modeling Framework

Authors: Angela Bryan, Sarah J. Schmiege, Michelle R. Broaddus

Published in: AIDS and Behavior | Issue 3/2007

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Abstract

Mediational analyses have been recognized as useful in answering two broad questions that arise in HIV/AIDS research, those of theoretical model testing and of the effectiveness of multicomponent interventions. This article serves as a primer for those wishing to use mediation techniques in their own research, with a specific focus on mediation applied in the context of path analysis within a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework. Mediational analyses and the SEM framework are reviewed at a general level, followed by a discussion of the techniques as applied to complex research designs, such as models with multiple mediators, multilevel or longitudinal data, categorical outcomes, and problematic data (e.g., missing data, nonnormally distributed variables). Issues of statistical power and of testing the significance of the mediated effect are also discussed. Concrete examples that include computer syntax and output are provided to demonstrate the application of these techniques to testing a theoretical model and to the evaluation of a multicomponent intervention.
Appendix
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Footnotes
1
A key advantage of using latent variables instead of measured variables is that latent variables account for unreliability of measurement (Jaccard & Wan, 1995). When measures are unreliable, the regression coefficients/path coefficients are biased. For more information on tests of mediation within a latent variable framework, see Hoyle and Kenny (1999).
 
2
It is also possible to use the EM algorithm to obtain maximum likelihood estimates for missing data in EQS. This procedure makes the EQS programming slightly more complex, so in this example we chose to use listwise deletion as it keeps the programming language more simplified. For sample programs using the EM algorithm for missing data in EQS, we refer the reader to the EQS program manual (Bentler, 1995).
 
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Metadata
Title
Mediational Analysis in HIV/AIDS Research: Estimating Multivariate Path Analytic Models in a Structural Equation Modeling Framework
Authors
Angela Bryan
Sarah J. Schmiege
Michelle R. Broaddus
Publication date
01-05-2007
Published in
AIDS and Behavior / Issue 3/2007
Print ISSN: 1090-7165
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3254
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-006-9150-2

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