Working on a project, and I have a mediation result where I'm curious if I'm interpreting this right. I'm a little rusty on my mediation interpretations. See image example below.
A pathway is positive
B pathway is negative
C' pathway is positive
The C pathway has a beta = .40, but after running the mediation model the C' pathway has a beta of .67
Mediation: A pathway beta = .56; B pathway beta = -.50
Using state data categorized by county. The directions of the mediation results are throwing my confidence in the interpretation a bit.
X = Pct Poor health status in a county
M = Pct voted for candidate A in a county
Y = Death Rate in a county
My interpretation:
Countywide poor health status positively predicts county death rate, but the result is mediated by the pct who voted for candidate A in the county.
Pct poor health status in a county positively predicted Pct Voted for Candidate A. Counties that were more likely to vote for Candidate A had a lower death rate.
Does that sound accurate? Thanks.