Mediation (statistics)
In statistics, a mediation model seeks to identify and explain the mechanism or process that underlies the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable, through the inclusion of a third hypothetical variable known as a mediator variable (also referred to as an intermediate variable or intervening variable). In this framework, the relationship is not conceived as a direct causal link between the independent and the dependent variable, but rather as one in which the independent variable influences the mediator variable, which in turn affects the dependent variable.