1.1.3. Mediator and Moderator Variables

For a variable to be a mediator variable, it must meet some requirements. These requirements are as follows (Baron & Kenny, 1986):

• Changes in the independent variable significantly explain changes in the hypothesized mediator variable,
• Changes in the mediator variable significantly explain the cause of changes in the dependent variable,
• A significant relationship between a dependent and independent variable is no longer significant or the strength of the relationship has decreased.

In the model given in Figure 2, “Mindfulness in Marriage” is the mediator variable.

A moderator variable influences the strength and/or direction of the association between an independent or predictor variable and a dependent or predicted variable. Examples of moderator variables include gender, race, and class, whereas quantitative variables include education level (Baron & Kenny, 1986). The model for the moderator variable is given as an example in Figure 3.

In the moderator variable model in Figure 3, “Mindfulness” is the independent variable, “Emotion Regulation” is the dependent variable and “Gender” is the moderator variable. The primary goal of moderator analysis is to determine how the variable chosen as a moderator influences the strength of the link between the dependent and independent variables. In other words, depending on the gender, the correlation between mindfulness and emotion regulation may be stronger or weaker.