title: Testing mediation effects in cross-classified multilevel data.
abstract: In this article, we propose an approach to test mediation effects in cross-classified multilevel data in which the initial cause is associated with one crossed factor, the mediator is associated with the other crossed factor, and the outcome is associated with Level-1 units (i.e., the 2(A)➔2(B)➔1 design). Multiple-membership models and cross-classified random effects models are used to estimate the indirect effects. The method is illustrated using real data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (1998). The results from the simulation study show that the proposed method can produce a consistent estimate of the indirect effect and reliable statistical inferences, given an adequate sample size.
authors.affiliation: Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA. wluo@email.tamu.edu.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D015233:Models, Statistical; D012107:Research Design / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Cross-classified multilevel data; Cross-classified random effects models; Mediation analysis; Multiple membership models