| |
Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
 | |
|
Investigating moderator hypotheses in aging research
— statistical, methodological and conceptual difficulties with comparing separate regressions | | Author(s) | Jason T Newsom, Holly G Prigerson, Richard Schulz |
| Journal title | International Journal of Aging and Human Development, vol 57, no 2, 2003 |
| Pages | pp 119-150 |
| Source | http://baywood.com |
| Keywords | Bereavement ; Young people ; Middle aged ; Age groups [elderly] ; Informal care ; Longitudinal surveys ; Interpretation ; Comparison ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | Many topics in ageing research discuss questions about group differences in prediction. Such questions can be viewed in terms of interaction or moderator effects, and use of appropriate methods to test these hypotheses are necessary to arrive at accurate conclusions about age differences. This article discusses the conceptual, methodological and statistical problems in one approach to investigating moderator hypotheses. The subgroup regression approach, in which separate regression analyses are conducted in two or more groups, is widely used in ageing research to examine group differences in prediction, but can lead to erroneous conclusions. The moderated regression approach, involving the test of a product term, is described and recommended as an alternative approach. The question of whether social support has greater beneficial effects for younger or older adults is investigated in this study of 287 recently bereaved adults aged 20 to 91. Using the subgroup approach, findings indicate that social support significantly predicts depressive symptoms among youger adults and do not significantly predict depression in older age groups. The moderated regression analysis, however, indicated no significant age differences in the effect of social support. These results clearly illustrate that the analysis strategy researchers choose may have an important bearing on theory in ageing research, such as conclusions regarding the role of social support across the life span. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-040519209 A |
| Classmark | DW: SB: SE: BB: P6: 3J: 4CC: 48: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
|
| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
| |
|