Mediationanalysisisastatisticalmethodusedtounderstandthemechanismorprocessthatunderliesanobservedrelationshipbetweenanindependentvariableandadependentvariable.Itexamineswhethertheeffectoftheindependentvariableonthedependentvariableistransmittedthroughathirdvariable,knownasthemediator.Thegoalistodetermineifthemediatorcarriestheinfluenceoftheindependentvariabletothedependentvariable,therebyexplaininghoworwhytherelationshipexists.Mediationanalysishelpsresearchersidentifyindirecteffectsanddecomposethetotaleffectoftheindependentvariableintodirectandindirectcomponents.Thismethodiswidelyusedinpsychology,socialsciences,epidemiology,andotherfieldstoexplorecausalpathwaysandunderlyingprocessesinrelationshipsbetweenvariables.CommonapproachestomediationanalysisincludetheBaronandKennymethod,structuralequationmodeling(SEM),andbootstrappingtechniques.
