Kraemer Helena Chmura, Kiernan Michaela, Essex Marilyn, Kupfer David J
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, CA, USA.
Health Psychol. 2008 Mar;27(2S):S101-8. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.27.2(Suppl.).S101.
In recognition of the increasingly important role of moderators and mediators in clinical research, clear definitions are sought of the two terms to avoid inconsistent, ambiguous, and possibly misleading results across clinical research studies.
The criteria used to define moderators and mediators proposed by the Baron & Kenny approach, which have been long used in social/behavioral research, are directly compared to the criteria proposed by the recent MacArthur approach, which modified the Baron & Kenny criteria.
After clarifying the differences in criteria between approaches, the rationale for the modifications is clarified and the implications for the design and interpretation of future studies considered.
Researchers may find modifications introduced in the MacArthur approach more appropriate to their research objectives, particularly if their research might have a direct influence on decision making.
鉴于调节变量和中介变量在临床研究中发挥着日益重要的作用，现寻求对这两个术语进行清晰定义，以避免在各项临床研究中出现结果不一致、含混不清以及可能产生误导的情况。
将长期用于社会/行为研究的由巴伦和肯尼方法提出的用于定义调节变量和中介变量的标准，与近期修改了巴伦和肯尼标准的麦克阿瑟方法提出的标准进行直接比较。
在明确了两种方法标准之间的差异后，阐明了修改的理由，并考虑了对未来研究设计和解释的影响。
研究人员可能会发现麦克阿瑟方法中引入的修改更适合他们的研究目标，特别是如果他们的研究可能对决策产生直接影响。
