Examining Mediator and indirect effects of Loneliness in Social Support on Social Well-Being Using Baron and Kenny and a Bootstrapping Method

This study presentation examines mediator effect and indirect effect of loneliness in social support on social well being by using two methods: Baron & Kenny, and Bootstrapping. A cross-sectional data were used here from the longitudinal study randomized trial design in which 185 participants were assigned to the therapeutic group (n=93) who received by teleconference with participants interacting in real time with each other and control group (n=92) who received usual psychosocial care (any support used by the patient in the course of cancer treatment. Baron and Kenny (1986)steps and Hayes (2004) we reused to examine mediation effect. Results of Baron indicated that the relationship between social support and social well being was significant (c =.634 (total effect) (p=.0001)) and that there was significant relationship between mediator and predictor variable (α =-2.11 (p=.0001)). Also, previously found significant relationship between social support and social well being w (c’ =.595 (direct effect) (p=.0001) when both social support and loneliness were in the model. The indirect effect was .039 and Sobel test was significant (P=.028). Therefore, there was no mediator effect for loneliness in the relationship between social support and social well being. The results of bootstrapping methods indicated the direct effect wares .591 (95% CI: .589-.593 for normal theory and .481.690 for percentile) and indirect effect was .040 (95% CI: .039-.040 for normal theory and .006-.087for percentile). The result showed both methods had significant indirect effect.