Probing Interactions in Differential Susceptibility Research

Click here to go to the overview/instructions page for this application.

Regression parametersParameter variance/covariance matrix Optional parameters
Enter the unstandardized regression coefficients from your model here. Regression coefficients

Intercept (b0)
Variable X (b1)
Variable Z (b2)
Interaction XZ (b3)



Indicate here the names of your variables. These will be used in making the graphs and in annotating the output. Variable labels

Name of variable Y
Name of variable X
Name of variable Z
Indicate the variance and covariance of the parameter estimates here. This information can be obtained from most regression outputs by requesting in the options the assymptotic covariance matrix. This information is only needed if you are using this application to compute Regions of Significance or the statistical significance of simple slopes. Variance-Covariance maxtrix of regression estimates

Variance parameter b1
Variance parameter b2
Variance parameter b3



Covariance parameters b1 b3
Covariance parameters b2 b3



degrees of freedom = N - k - 1, where N is your sample size and k is the number of predictors in the regression equation (3, in most cases). This information is only needed if you are testing the statistical significance of simple slopes. Degrees of freedom

Degress of freedom (df)
Here you can adjust the default plotting values. You can set the min and max values for the y-axis and the min and max values for the x-axis. Plotting parameters

Min plot value for outcome (y-axis)
Max plot value for outcome (y-axis)
Minimum X value to plot (x-axis)
Maximum X value to plot (x-axis)


Indicate here the value of the predictor variable, X, you want to probe to evaluate the statistical significance of simple slopes of Y on Z. The program will automatically test that value and -1*that value. (If you enter 2 the program will test the simple slopes of Y on Z at X = 2 and X = -2.) Values of the predictor to probe for simple slopes

X value to probe for simple slopes



Indicate here which values of the moderator you would like to plot in the figure and probe for the purposes of testing simple slopes. If you have a binary moderator (e.g., At Risk vs. Not at risk), chose the numeric codes from your regression analysis (e.g., 0 and 1) here and label the two groups accordingly. Values of the moderator to plot/probe

Low Z value to probe and plot for simple slopes

Label for this group in the figure legend


High Z value to probe and plot for simple slopes

Label for this group in the figure legend



Provide detailed explanations in output
Show background grid lines
Show Regions of Significance (RoS) with respect to X
Show Regions of Significance (RoS) with respect to Z
Show Propotion of the Interaction areas (PoI)







O U T C O M E
      PREDICTOR


Regions of Significance (RoS) with respect to Z (Moderator)
Lower threshold for RoS with respect to Z = -0.207
Upper threshold for RoS with respect to Z = 0.216
    where values of Z outside this region are significant
These values represent the upper and lower bounds of values for Moderator (between -2 and + 2) at which the regression of Outcome on Predictor is statistically significant (alpha = .05). The regression of Outcome on Predictor is significant for all values of Moderator that fall outside the region [-0.207, 0.216]. In the figure, only regressions based on values of Moderator between -2 and + 2 are probed and graphed.
Simple slope at Z = 1 is 0.30, t(1000) = 6.40, p = 0.000
Simple slope at Z = -1 is -0.30, t(1000) = 7.07, p = 0.000


Regions of Significance (RoS) with respect to X (Predictor)
Lower threshold for RoS with respect to X = 0.433
Upper threshold for RoS with respect to X = 0.969
    where values of X outside this region are significant
These values represent the upper and lower bounds of values for Predictor at which the regression of Outcome on Moderator is statistically significant (alpha = .05). The regression of Outcome on Moderator is significant for all values of Predictor that fall outside the region [0.433, 0.969].
Simple slope at X = 2 is 0.40, t(1000) = 5.44, p = 0.000
Simple slope at X = -2 is -0.80, t(1000) = 11.80, p = 0.000


Proportion of the Interaction (PoI) with respect to Predictor
PoI values provide a way to express the proportion of the total interaction that is represented on the left and right sides of the crossover point. If the crossover point for the two regression lines occurs on the far right side of Predictor (e.g., 1.5 SDs above the mean), then the interaction qualifies a narrow range of the effects in question. If the regression lines intersect in the middle of Predictor, then the interaction qualifies a maximum amount of the effects in question.

The PoI values are computed as the area of the triangle to the left of the crossover point and the area of the triangle to the right of the crossover point, bounded by -2 and 2 on Predictor by convention. These two PoI values should sum to 1.00. If there is no interaction--or if the crossover falls outside of the -2 to + 2 SD range, these values will be undefined or will be extreme (e.g., 1.00 and 0.00).

PoI right = 0.20

Proportion Affected (PA) with respect to Predictor
The PA index represents the proportion of people differentially affected by the crossover interaction. This is computed by finding the point on Predictor where the regression lines intersect and calculating the proportion of cases on Predictor that fall above that crossover point.

This particular index can be valuable because it quantifies the proportion of people who are differentially affected by the interaction. Below the crossover point, for example, people high on Moderator might score lower on Outcome than people low on Moderator. Above the crossover point, however, this relationship might be reversed such that people high on Moderator score higher on Outcome compared to people low on Moderator. The PA index essentially summarizes the proportion of people for whom the association between Moderator and Outcome is reversed or qualified.

In practice, the PA index should be computed with respect to the sorted empirical values of Predictor. Because this web application does not use raw empirical data as input (only summary statistics), the PA index is computed under the assumption that Predictor is normally distributed. To the extent to which the actual distribution of Predictor departs from a normal distribution, the PA index will be inaccurate. It is possible to compute PA in SPSS or Excel simply by creating a new variable using the following pseudo-code: NEWVAR = 1 if X > crossover value. A simple frequency analysis of NEWVAR will reveal how many cases fall above the crossover point.

Crossover point on Predictor = 0.667
PA index (normal distribution assumed) = 0.252
R. Chris Fraley | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign