SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Structural equation modeling”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,243 records · Page 69Linked to original sources

PubMed2004

Self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism in the Eating Disorder Inventory Perfectionism subscale.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the existence and the importance of the distinction between self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism in the Eating Disorder Inventory Perfectionism subscale (EDI-P). METHOD: Trait perfectionism, measured by the EDI-P, and eating disorder symptoms, measured by the 26-item Eating Attitudes Test, were examined in 220 university students (110 women and 110 men) belonging to a campus-based fitness facility. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that, for both genders, the EDI-P is best represented by a multidimensional factor structure with three self-oriented perfectionism items (EDI-SOP) and three socially prescribed perfectionism items (EDI-SPP). Structural equation modeling demonstrated that, for both genders, EDI-SOP and EDI-SPP are related independently to eating disorder symptoms. Moderational analysis indicated that, for women, the impact of EDI-SOP on eating disorder symptoms is dependent on the level of EDI-SPP. DISCUSSION: It is suggested that future research should acknowledge the empirical and theoretical implications of having EDI-SOP and EDI-SPP in the EDI-P. It is cautioned that EDI-SOP and EDI-SPP are a partial representation of an already published multidimensional model of trait perfectionism.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Undue influence of weight on self-evaluation: a population-based twin study of gender differences.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the extent to which genetic and environmental factors contribute to liability to placing undue importance on weight as an indicator of self-evaluation and to determine whether differences exist across genders in the nature and magnitude of these effects. METHOD: Self-report data were collected on 8,045 same-sex and opposite-sex twins, aged 18-31 years, from a population-based registry of Norwegian twins. Structural equation modeling was utilized to estimate the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to liability for undue influence of weight on self-evaluation, allowing for gender-specific effects. RESULTS: Individual variation in undue influence of weight on self-evaluation was best explained by shared and individual environmental influences. No significant gender differences were found. Shared environmental factors accounted for 31% of the variance. DISCUSSION: These results raise the possibility that there may be distinct sources of familial resemblance for different symptoms of bulimia nervosa as codified in the 4th ed. of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).

Adolescent↗

PubMed2007

Genetic influences on mannan-binding lectin (MBL) and mannan-binding lectin associated serine protease-2 (MASP-2) activity.

The lectin pathway of the complement system is activated when Mannan-binding lectin (MBL) in complex with MASP-2 binds microorganisms. Polymorphisms in both genes are responsible for low serum levels, which associate with increased risk of infection and autoimmune disease. The present study includes 1215 MBL measurements and 1214 MASP-2 activity measurements in healthy Danish adult twins. Total MASP-2 activity was estimated by C4 cleaving activity of samples diluted in an excess of MBL. Twin-twin correlations were higher in monozygotic (MZ) than in dizygotic (DZ) twins for both traits. Heritabilites of MBL levels and MASP-2 activity were estimated using structural equation modeling allowing assessment of the contribution of common genes affecting both traits. The estimated heritability was 0.77 [95% CI 0.64;0.91] for MBL levels and 0.75 [95% CI 0.59;0.81] for MASP-2 activity with the presence of additive genetic factors, shared environmental factors, and non-shared environmental factors. The genetic correlation, i.e., common genetic factors affecting MBL and MASP-2 activity was estimated to r(g) = 0.34 [0.25;0.42]. The data indicate a strong genetic influence for the serum levels of MBL and for MASP-2 activity with a significant genetic correlation between the two traits.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

The psychosocial burden on spouses of the elderly with stroke, dementia and Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the psychosocial burden on spouses living with the elderly suffering from mild dementia, stroke and Parkinson's disease, and to identify patient characteristics associated with it. Materials and methods Data on patient-spouse couples came from three studies of patients with stroke (36 couples), mild dementia (92 couples) and Parkinson's disease (58 couples). The psychosocial burden was recorded by the 15-item Relatives' Stress Scale (RSS). A factor analysis of this instrument produced a one-factor solution (CFI = 0.98) consisting of eight items with good face validity and acceptable reliability within each diagnostic group (Cronbach's alpha range 0.66-0.69). Covariates of this factor were identified using structural equation modeling (SEM) by regression on patient's age, gender, cognitive function (MMSE), activities of daily living (ADL) and depressive symptoms (MADRS). RESULTS: Disorganization of household routines, difficulties with going away for holidays, restrictions on social life, and the disturbances of sleep were the most frequently reported problems in all three groups. According to the mean sumscore on the RSS, the perceived psychosocial burden was similar across the diagnostic groups. In the final SEM model, a lower cognitive function of the patient was associated with a higher psychosocial burden on the spouses of patients with stroke (beta = -1.3, p = 0.01) and Parkinson's disease (beta = -0.89, p < 0.01), while in the dementia group, only an insignificant trend was demonstrated. In the dementia group, a significantly higher burden was identified on female spouses (beta = -0.56, p = 0.04). A heavier burden of care was also associated with depressive symptoms in the patients with Parkinson's disease. In neither group did the final model disclose any effect of ADL function on the spouse's psychosocial burden. CONCLUSION: Spouses caring for patients with dementia, stroke and Parkinson's disease perceive a similar type and level of psychosocial burden, independent of the disease. The cognitive functioning of the patient is a particularly important factor in this, especially when caring for patients with stroke or Parkinson's disease.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2006

A Bayesian approach to determining connectivity of the human brain.

Recent work regarding the analysis of brain imaging data has focused on examining functional and effective connectivity of the brain. We develop a novel descriptive and inferential method to analyze the connectivity of the human brain using functional MRI (fMRI). We assess the relationship between pairs of distinct brain regions by comparing expected joint and marginal probabilities of elevated activity of voxel pairs through a Bayesian paradigm, which allows for the incorporation of previously known anatomical and functional information. We define the relationship between two distinct brain regions by measures of functional connectivity and ascendancy. After assessing the relationship between all pairs of brain voxels, we are able to construct hierarchical functional networks from any given brain region and assess significant functional connectivity and ascendancy in these networks. We illustrate the use of our connectivity analysis using data from an fMRI study of social cooperation among women who played an iterated "Prisoner's Dilemma" game. Our analysis reveals a functional network that includes the amygdala, anterior insula cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex, and another network that includes the ventral striatum, orbitofrontal cortex, and anterior insula. Our method can be used to develop causal brain networks for use with structural equation modeling and dynamic causal models.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Genetic and environmental influences on symptomatic gallstone disease: a Swedish study of 43,141 twin pairs.

The contribution of hereditary and environmental factors to the pathogenesis of symptomatic gallstone disease is still unclear. We estimated the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors by analyzing a large population of twins. For this purpose, the Swedish Twin Registry was linked with the Swedish inpatient-discharge and causes of death registries for symptomatic gallstone disease and gallstone surgery-related diagnoses in 43,141 twin pairs born between 1900 and 1958. Concordance rates, correlations, and odds ratios were calculated for males, females, monozygotic, and dizygotic twins, respectively, as well as for twin pairs of opposite sex. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to estimate the contributions of genetic effects as well as shared and non-shared environmental factors to the development of symptomatic gallstone disease. We found that concordances and correlations were higher in monozygotic compared with dizygotic twins, both for males and females. Of note, there were no significant sex differences in heritability. In the full model, genetic effects accounted for 25% (95% CI, 9%-40%), shared environmental effects for 13% (95% CI, 1%-25%), and unique environmental effects for 62% (95% CI, 56%-68%) of the phenotypic variance among twins. In conclusion, our results show heritability to be a major susceptibility factor for symptomatic gallstone disease, consistent with results from previous, much smaller studies.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The limits to patient compliance with directly observed therapy for tuberculosis: a socio-medical study in Pakistan.

Complying with the prescriptions of the directly observed therapy (DOT), one of the components of the Global Tuberculosis Programme of the WHO, is problematic for many patients. The factors leading to patient (non-) compliance with DOT are placed in a structural equation model. The study is based on a survey carried out in one general hospital in the Punjab province of Pakistan, amongst all sputum positive pulmonary TB patients (n = 621) who arrived at the TB unit from September 1997 to October 1998. The tested sequence of manifest variables and latent constructs shows that the social stratification perspective has to be extended by the stigmatization perspective. The advantages of universally applying DOT will increase even further when the latter perspective is involved in the analysis of non-compliance. There is a real danger that the patients reached by selective DOT will be stigmatized even more.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Environmental and heritable causes of cancer among 9.6 million individuals in the Swedish Family-Cancer Database.

The genetic and environmental components in 15 common cancers were estimated using the nationwide Swedish Family-Cancer Database. Tetrachoric correlations were used to describe similarity in cancer liability among family members. Structural equation modeling was used to derive estimates of the importance of genetic and environmental effects. Statistically significant estimates of proportion of cancer susceptibility, accounted for by genetic effects, were obtained for all studied cancers except for leukemia. The estimate was highest in thyroid cancer (53%), followed by tumors at endocrine glands (28%), testis (25%), breast (25%), cervix (22%), melanoma (21%), colon (13%), nervous system (12%), rectum (12%), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (10%), lung (8%), kidney (8%), urinary bladder (7%), stomach (1%) and leukemia (1%). The estimates of shared environmental effects ranged from 0% (cervix) to 15% (stomach). The childhood shared environmental effects were most important in testicular cancer (17%), stomach cancer (13%) and cervix in situ (13%). Our results indicate that environment has a principal causative role in cancer at all studied sites except for thyroid. The relatively large effect of heritability in cancer at some sites, on the other hand, indicates that even though susceptibility genes have been described at many cancer sites, they are likely to explain only part of the genetic effects.

Breast Neoplasms↗

PubMed2003

Perceived criticism predicts severity of anxiety symptoms after behavioral treatment in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder with agoraphobia.

In prospective research, psychiatric patients' perceived criticism (PC) from family members has been linked to higher rates of relapse and worse treatment outcome. Researchers have disagreed about whether PC contributes to poor treatment outcomes or whether it merely reflects the severity of a patient's disturbance. In this study, structural equation modeling was used to conduct a cross-lagged panel analysis of the relationship between PC and anxiety symptom severity assessed before and after treatment in anxiety-disordered patients. PC was found to be unrelated to concurrent symptom severity. Furthermore, pretreatment PC significantly predicted posttreatment symptom severity over and above the effect of pretreatment symptom severity, whereas pretreatment symptom severity failed to significantly predict posttreatment PC. Thus, these results are consistent with (although not proof of) the hypothesis that PC detracts from patients' ability to respond to treatment, and inconsistent with the hypothesis that PC is a reflection of a patient's symptom severity.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Use of sexual intercourse to reduce negative affect as a prospective mediator of sexual revictimization.

Increased risk of adult sexual assault (ASA) among women who experienced child sexual abuse (CSA) is well established. The strategies these women use to reduce negative affect secondary to CSA, such as sexual contact, may mediate the link between CSA and later ASA. Two waves of data from a racially diverse sample (i.e., 46% Black, 46.1% White, 7.9% other) of community women (N = 776) were analyzed using structural equation modeling. A history of CSA was associated with a twofold increase in the likelihood of experiencing ASA between the two measurement occasions (approximately 6 years). Psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety) and use of sex to reduce negative affect partially mediated the relation between CSA and prospective ASA. Implications for the treatment of CSA and prevention of sexual assault are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Posttraumatic stress symptoms, coping, and physical health status among university students seeking health care.

This study examined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, coping, and physical health status in students reporting a trauma history (N = 138) using structural equation modeling. Participants completed questionnaires assessing PTSD symptoms, coping specific to health-related and trauma-related stressors and physical health. After accounting for coping with health-specific problems, trauma-specific avoidance coping was uniquely associated with poorer health status. Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms were associated with poorer physical health status, controlling for age, health behaviors, and other psychopathology. In addition, the effect of PTSD symptoms on poorer health status was mediated by health- and trauma-specific avoidance coping. Results suggest that university health centers should screen for PTSD and consider psychoeducational programs and coping skills interventions for survivors of trauma.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

Domestic violence exposure in Colombian adolescents: pathways to violent and prosocial behavior.

Associations between domestic violence exposure and violent and prosocial behavior were tested in a sample of Colombian adolescents, with attention to impulsivity and substance use problems as mediators of these associations. A representative sample of 1,152 school youths and a convenience group of 148 juvenile offenders aged 11-19 years participated. Results using structural equation modeling showed indirect effects of impulsivity and substance use problems between family violence (i.e., exposure to interparental violence) and violent behavior. Maltreatment (i.e., harsh parenting) was directly associated with violent behavior, though impulsivity and substance use problems also mediated this relation. Maltreatment directly and inversely contributed to prosocial behavior but there was no evidence of mediation. Results are discussed in terms of cognitive and behavioral factors that explain violent and prosocial behavior among Colombian youths. Limitations and implications for prevention are described.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Subjective distress from stressful events and high-risk behaviors as predictors of PTSD symptom severity in clients with severe mental illness.

Survey data collected from 257 community mental health center clients tested direct and indirect relationships among subjective distress associated with stressful/traumatic events and high-risk behaviors, substance abuse, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed substantial direct effects of subjective distress associated with lifetime physical and sexual abuse on PTSD symptom severity. Subjective distress related to high-risk behaviors (e.g., suicide attempts) mediated subjective distress and PTSD symptom severity. Subjective distress from physical and sexual abuse was also strongly related to problem drinking. Adding gender to the model revealed greater subjective distress from physical and sexual abuse for women and greater drinking problems for men. Otherwise, gender had little effect on the model overall.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Resiliency among individuals with childhood sexual abuse and HIV: perspectives on addressing sexual trauma.

This study examined how resiliency (represented by optimism, social support, religiosity, and finding growth and meaning), within the context of perceived impact of sexual trauma and HIV-related stress, was linked to perspectives on addressing trauma among individuals (N=266) with HIV and childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that lower resiliency and greater HIV-related stress were related to negative feelings about addressing trauma, whereas greater resiliency and higher perceived impact of sexual trauma were associated with positive feelings about addressing trauma. Findings suggest that multiple factors influence perspectives on addressing trauma among individuals with HIV and CSA, and that resiliency might influence these attitudes.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

PTSD as a mediator of sexual revictimization: the role of reexperiencing, avoidance, and arousal symptoms.

Theory and research suggest that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may mediate the relationship between child sexual abuse and adult sexual assault. However, little empirical research has examined the mediational role of PTSD. In the present study, the authors use structural equation modeling to examine the degree to which the three symptom clusters that define PTSD (reexperiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal) contribute to sexual revictimization. To assess PTSD symptomatology, undergraduate women completed questionnaires (N = 1,449), which detailed the history and severity of childhood and adult sexual assault experiences. Results indicated that PTSD mediated sexual revictimization. When PTSD symptom clusters were examined individually, only the hyperarousal cluster was a significant mediator. Results are discussed in terms of information-processing mechanisms that may underlie sexual revictimization.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Coping, symptoms, and functioning outcomes of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder.

This study examines the association between approach coping and better functioning outcomes and the reciprocal relationships between coping and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in patients diagnosed with PTSD. Posttraumatic stress disorder patients receiving services in five VA health care systems were randomly selected and surveyed at baseline and followed 10 months later. Analyses of longitudinal data using structural equation modeling techniques showed that more approach coping predicted better family and social functioning. Cognitive avoidance coping predicted more PTSD symptoms, and more PTSD symptoms predicted more approach coping and more behavioral avoidance coping. Approach coping may enable patients with chronic PTSD to establish and maintain better relationships with family and friends, despite continuing PTSD.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2002

Assessing the longitudinal course of depression and economic integration of south-east Asian refugees: an application of latent growth curve analysis.

This paper has both methodological and substantive application for mental-health researchers. Methodologically, it presents the latent growth curve (LGC) technique within a structural equation modelling (SEM) framework as a powerful tool to analyse change in depressive symptoms and potential correlates of such changes. The rationale for LGC analysis and subsequent elaboration of this statistical approach are presented. The limitations of traditional analytical methods are also addressed. Substantively, the paper considers socio-contextual factors as correlates of change in symptoms, and examines the dynamic systematic relationship with the degree of economic integration of south-east Asian immigrants in Canada over time. Using the LGC technique, this study also investigated how the longitudinal course of subclinical depression places individuals at risk for developing full-blown major depression. The LGC results provided strong evidence for the reciprocal influence between economic integration and subclinical depression of immigrants. The initial level of economic integration negatively influenced the rate of change in subclinical depression whereas the initial level of subclinical depression negatively influenced the rate of change in economic integration. Both initial level and the rate of change in subclinical depression placed individuals at risk for full-blown major depression. However, traditional auto-regressive models were not capable of revealing these dynamic associations. Thus, an investigation of within-individual change in symptoms and potential correlates of such changes is necessary to understand the process that results in full-blown mental disorder.

Asia, Southeastern↗

PubMed2001

Exercise among blue-collar workers: application of the theory of planned behavior.

The purpose of this study was to identify cognitive predictors of blue-collar workers' (N = 468) intention to exercise and their self-reported exercise behavior. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) provided the framework for the study. A cross-sectional sample of skilled and unskilled workers from the physical facilities department of a large, Midwestern state university completed a questionnaire containing measures of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, intention, and self-reported leisure exercise behavior. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that workers' attitude toward exercise and perceived behavioral control explained 61.7% of the variance of intention, whereas intention and perceived behavioral control explained 51.3% of the variance of exercise behavior. Subjective norm was not a significant predictor of intention to exercise. The findings support the use of the TPB in identifying cognitive factors that explain exercise behavior and suggest that interventions to promote exercise behavior in blue-collar workers should address their attitude toward exercise and their perceptions of behavioral control.

Adult↗