Commentary: Reflecting on Holmbeck (2002): Making Advanced Quantitative Methods Approachable in Pediatric Psychology

摘要

Over the past several decades, the field of pediatric psychology has progressed from ( ) to phenomena, asking questions about and processes occur ( ; ). Initial signs of this shift within the field can be seen in early calls for theory driven research and process analyses that account for individual-level differences ( ; ). This growing appreciation for process and person-oriented approaches resulted in increasingly complex research questions, and subsequently, the need for complex statistical techniques. In 1997, Holmbeck published an overview of moderators and mediators ( ), and expanded on this work in a 2002 Journal of Pediatric Psychology (JPP) publication which detailed additional statistical steps for examining moderation and mediation; namely, how to conduct post hoc probes of significant mediation and moderation effects ( ). The practical methods strategies in offered rationale for why post hoc probing should be done, and provided instructions on how to conduct these analyses using relevant pediatric psychology examples. This approachable method, combined with the zeitgeist of increased emphasis on theory-driven research, helps to explain the impact of these publications, both within and beyond the field of pediatric psychology ( ). Nearly two decades later, the core message in regarding the importance of exploring complex questions persists, even as advances in technology have reduced computational efforts and facilitated the adoption of updated techniques ( ).