Abstract Causal mediation analysis is complicated with multiple effect definitions that require different sets of assumptions for identification. This article provides a systematic explanation of such assumptions. We define five potential outcome types whose means are involved in various effect...

Abstract Suppose we are interested in the effect of variable X on variable Y . If X and Y both influence, or are associated with variables that influence, a common outcome, called a collider , then conditioning on the collider (or on a variable influenced by the collider – its “child”)...