Integrating mediation and moderation to advance theory development and testing.

OBJECTIVE The concepts and associated analyses of mediation and moderation are important to the field of psychology. Although pediatric psychologists frequently incorporate mediation and moderation in their theories and empirical research, on few occasions have we integrated mediation and moderation. In this article, conceptual reasons for integrating mediation and moderation are offered. METHOD We illustrate a model that integrates mediation and moderation. RESULTS In our illustration, the strength of an indirect or a mediating effect varied as a function of a moderating variable. CONCLUSIONS Clinical implications of the integration of mediation and moderation are discussed, as is the potential of integrated models to advance research programs in pediatric psychology.