Donna L Coffman
Biographic Data
| ID | 5464443 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Donna L Coffman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Donna L |
| FAMILY NAME | Coffman |
| SIGNATURE | COFFMAN D L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Temple University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6305-6579 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 67 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Time-Varying Path-Specific Direct and Indirect Effects: A Novel Approach to Examine Dynamic Behavioral Processes with Application to Smoking Cessation
Behavioral processes are often complex, and vary over time, requiring intensive longitudinal data to effectively capture the dynamic elements involved. For example, examining daily socio-behavioral and treatment adherence data collected during a smoking quit attempt, can reveal how, when, and why withdrawal symptoms change, offering insight into critical windows of relapse-risk in the cessation process. However, analytical methods (e.g., time-var…
Why Are Adolescent Cannabis Use Disorder Treatment Admissions Declining in the US? The Mediated Pathway of State Treatment Admissions Rates before and after Recreational Cannabis Legalization
Purpose: State-level prevalence data are used to investigate whether recreational cannabis legalization moderates the mediated pathway from the perception of low risk of harm, to cannabis use, to cannabis use disorder (CUD) treatment admissions, among adolescents (age 12–17) in the US. Methods: Annual state prevalence measures of perception of low risk, cannabis use, and CUD treatment admissions between 2008 and 2019 (N = 542 state-year observati…
The Role of Pre-Treatment Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Adolescent Substance Use Treatment Outcomes
Background: Prominent theories suggest that individuals with co-occurring traumatic stress symptoms (TSS) and substance use (SU) may be less responsive to SU treatment compared to those with SU only. However, empirical findings in adult samples are mixed, and there has been limited work among adolescents. This study assesses the association between TSS and SU treatment outcomes among trauma-exposed adolescents, using statistical methods to reduce…
A Causal Approach to Functional Mediation Analysis with Application to a Smoking Cessation Intervention
The increase in the use of mobile and wearable devices now allows dense assessment of mediating processes over time. For example, a pharmacological intervention may have an effect on smoking cessation via reductions in momentary withdrawal symptoms. We define and identify the causal direct and indirect effects in terms of potential outcomes on the mean difference and odds ratio scales, and present a method for estimating and testing the indirect …
Proximity to Combined Sewer Overflow-Impacted Waters in Philadelphia: A Geographic Information Systems Study to Explore Environmental Injustice
Background: Recreating in waterbodies impacted by combined sewer overflows (CSOs) can present health risks due to exposure to microbial pathogens. This study compares population characteristics of those living within walking distance to CSO-impacted versus nonimpacted waters in Philadelphia to determine whether these populations differ by race, ethnicity, and sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: Adults recreating at or near natural water bo…
Maternal responsiveness and toddler body mass index z-score: Prospective analysis of maternal and child mealtime interactions
A Tutorial for Propensity Score Weighting for Moderation Analysis With Categorical Variables: An Application Examining Smoking Disparities Among Sexual Minority Adults
OBJECTIVE: To provide step-by-step guidance and STATA and R code for using propensity score (PS) weighting to estimate moderation effects with categorical variables. RESEARCH DESIGN: Tutorial illustrating the key steps for estimating and testing moderation using observational data. Steps include: (1) examining covariate overlap across treatment groups within levels of the moderator; (2) estimating the PS weights; (3) evaluating whether PS weights…
Varying Coefficient Mediation Model and Application to Analysis of Behavioral Economics Data
This paper is concerned with causal mediation analysis with varying indirect and direct effects. We propose a varying coefficient mediation model, which can also be viewed as an extension of moderation analysis on a causal diagram. We develop a new estimation procedure for the direct and indirect effects based on B-splines. Under mild conditions, rates of convergence and asymptotic distributions of the resulting estimates are established. We furt…
Neighborhood disadvantage moderates the effect of a mobile health intervention on adolescent depression
Selection, stability, and spuriousness: Testing Gottfredson and Hirschi's propositions to reinterpret street gangs in self‐control perspective
Overlooked in the extensive literature on self‐control theory are propositions with respect to street gangs. In Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) perspective, gangs are loose confederations of youth with low self‐control and their criminological relevance is attributable to “politics and romance” rather than to rigorous empirical research. Prior research is limited by the use of cross‐sectional data, which takes on added importance in light of rec…
Sensitivity and specificity of information criteria
Information criteria (ICs) based on penalized likelihood, such as Akaike’s information criterion (AIC), the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and sample-size-adjusted versions of them, are widely used for model selection in health and biological research. However, different criteria sometimes support different models, leading to discussions about which is the most trustworthy. Some researchers and fields of study habitually use one or the othe…
Using decision trees to understand the influence of individual- and neighborhood-level factors on urban diabetes and asthma
Geographic Imputation of Missing Activity Space Data from Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) GPS Positions
This research presents a pilot study to develop and compare methods of geographic imputation for estimating the location of missing activity space data collected using geographic ecological momentary assessment (GEMA). As a demonstration, we use data from a previously published analysis of the effect of neighborhood disadvantage, captured at the U.S. Census Bureau tract level, on momentary psychological stress among a sample of 137 urban adolesce…
Kids Safe and Smokefree (KiSS) Multilevel Intervention to Reduce Child Tobacco Smoke Exposure: Long-Term Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial
Background: Pediatricians following clinical practice guidelines for tobacco intervention (“Ask, Advise, and Refer” [AAR]) can motivate parents to reduce child tobacco smoke exposure (TSE). However, brief clinic interventions are unable to provide the more intensive, evidence-based behavioral treatments that facilitate the knowledge, skills, and confidence that parents need to both reduce child TSE and quit smoking. We hypothesized that a multile…
Development and preliminary validation of the Parenting around SNAcking Questionnaire (P-SNAQ)
The Effect of Having Aggressive Friends on Aggressive Behavior in Childhood: Using Propensity Scores to Strengthen Causal Inference
This study uses propensity scores to statistically approximate the causal effect of having aggressive friends on aggressive behavior in childhood. Participants were 1,355 children (53% girls; 31% minority) in 97 third and fifth grade classrooms enrolled in the Classroom Peer Ecologies Project. Propensity scores were calculated to control for the impact of 21 relevant confounder variables related to having aggressive friendships and aggressive beh…
Forced Sexual Experiences and Sexual Situation Self‐Efficacy Among S outh A frican Youth
Nearly 20% of South African youth experience forced or coerced sexual intercourse. Understanding the factors associated with forced sex is important for informing prevention programs aimed at reducing sexual violence and HIV and AIDS. Multilevel regression models test the association between sexual situation self-efficacy and forced sex among 2,893 South African adolescents. Findings suggest that youth are more likely to experience forced sex aft…
Long-Term Consequences of Early Sexual Initiation on Young Adult Health: A Causal Inference Approach
Although early sexual initiation has been linked to negative outcomes, it is unknown whether these effects are causal. In this study, we use propensity score methods to estimate the causal effect of early sexual initiation on young adult sexual risk behaviors and health outcomes using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We found that early sexual initiation predicted having 2 or more partners (for both males a…
Can We Spin Straw Into Gold? An Evaluation of Immigrant Legal Status Imputation Approaches
Researchers have developed logical, demographic, and statistical strategies for imputing immigrants’ legal status, but these methods have never been empirically assessed. We used Monte Carlo simulations to test whether, and under what conditions, legal status imputation approaches yield unbiased estimates of the association of unauthorized status with health insurance coverage. We tested five methods under a range of missing data scenarios. Logic…
Diet-related practices and BMI are associated with diet quality in older adults
Objective To assess the association of diet-related practices and BMI with diet quality in rural adults aged ≥74 years. Design Cross-sectional. Dietary quality was assessed by the twenty-five-item Dietary Screening Tool (DST). Diet-related practices were self-reported. Multivariate linear regression models were used to analyse associations of DST scores with BMI and diet-related practices after controlling for gender, age, education, smoking and …
Disparities in sense of community: True race differences or differential item functioning
The sense of community index (SCI) has been widely used to measure psychological sense of community (SOC). Furthermore, SOC has been found to differ among racial groups. Because different ethnic groups have different cultural and historical experiences that may lead to different interpretations of measurement items, it is important to know whether the instrument used to measure the construct of interest has equivalency in measurement across group…
Using Parcels to Convert Path Analysis Models Into Latent Variable Models
The biasing effects of measurement error in path analysis models can be overcome by the use of latent variable models. In cases where path analysis is used in practice, it is often possible to use parcels as indicators of a latent variable. The purpose of the current study was to compare latent variable models in which parcels were used as indicators of the latent variables, path analysis models of the aggregated variables, and models in which re…
Can We Spin Straw Into Gold? An Evaluation of Immigrant Legal Status Imputation Approaches
Researchers have developed logical, demographic, and statistical strategies for imputing immigrants’ legal status, but these methods have never been empirically assessed. We used Monte Carlo simulations to test whether, and under what conditions, legal status imputation approaches yield unbiased estimates of the association of unauthorized status with health insurance coverage. We tested five methods under a range of missing data scenarios. Logic…
Long-Term Consequences of Early Sexual Initiation on Young Adult Health: A Causal Inference Approach
Although early sexual initiation has been linked to negative outcomes, it is unknown whether these effects are causal. In this study, we use propensity score methods to estimate the causal effect of early sexual initiation on young adult sexual risk behaviors and health outcomes using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We found that early sexual initiation predicted having 2 or more partners (for both males a…
Selection, stability, and spuriousness: Testing Gottfredson and Hirschi's propositions to reinterpret street gangs in self‐control perspective
Overlooked in the extensive literature on self‐control theory are propositions with respect to street gangs. In Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) perspective, gangs are loose confederations of youth with low self‐control and their criminological relevance is attributable to “politics and romance” rather than to rigorous empirical research. Prior research is limited by the use of cross‐sectional data, which takes on added importance in light of rec…
Disparities in sense of community: True race differences or differential item functioning
The sense of community index (SCI) has been widely used to measure psychological sense of community (SOC). Furthermore, SOC has been found to differ among racial groups. Because different ethnic groups have different cultural and historical experiences that may lead to different interpretations of measurement items, it is important to know whether the instrument used to measure the construct of interest has equivalency in measurement across group…
Maternal responsiveness and toddler body mass index z-score: Prospective analysis of maternal and child mealtime interactions
Neighborhood disadvantage moderates the effect of a mobile health intervention on adolescent depression
Development and preliminary validation of the Parenting around SNAcking Questionnaire (P-SNAQ)
Using decision trees to understand the influence of individual- and neighborhood-level factors on urban diabetes and asthma
Using Parcels to Convert Path Analysis Models Into Latent Variable Models
The biasing effects of measurement error in path analysis models can be overcome by the use of latent variable models. In cases where path analysis is used in practice, it is often possible to use parcels as indicators of a latent variable. The purpose of the current study was to compare latent variable models in which parcels were used as indicators of the latent variables, path analysis models of the aggregated variables, and models in which re…
Disparities in sense of community: True race differences or differential item functioning
The sense of community index (SCI) has been widely used to measure psychological sense of community (SOC). Furthermore, SOC has been found to differ among racial groups. Because different ethnic groups have different cultural and historical experiences that may lead to different interpretations of measurement items, it is important to know whether the instrument used to measure the construct of interest has equivalency in measurement across group…
Diet-related practices and BMI are associated with diet quality in older adults
Objective To assess the association of diet-related practices and BMI with diet quality in rural adults aged ≥74 years. Design Cross-sectional. Dietary quality was assessed by the twenty-five-item Dietary Screening Tool (DST). Diet-related practices were self-reported. Multivariate linear regression models were used to analyse associations of DST scores with BMI and diet-related practices after controlling for gender, age, education, smoking and …
Forced Sexual Experiences and Sexual Situation Self‐Efficacy Among S outh A frican Youth
Nearly 20% of South African youth experience forced or coerced sexual intercourse. Understanding the factors associated with forced sex is important for informing prevention programs aimed at reducing sexual violence and HIV and AIDS. Multilevel regression models test the association between sexual situation self-efficacy and forced sex among 2,893 South African adolescents. Findings suggest that youth are more likely to experience forced sex aft…
Long-Term Consequences of Early Sexual Initiation on Young Adult Health: A Causal Inference Approach
Although early sexual initiation has been linked to negative outcomes, it is unknown whether these effects are causal. In this study, we use propensity score methods to estimate the causal effect of early sexual initiation on young adult sexual risk behaviors and health outcomes using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We found that early sexual initiation predicted having 2 or more partners (for both males a…
Can We Spin Straw Into Gold? An Evaluation of Immigrant Legal Status Imputation Approaches
Researchers have developed logical, demographic, and statistical strategies for imputing immigrants’ legal status, but these methods have never been empirically assessed. We used Monte Carlo simulations to test whether, and under what conditions, legal status imputation approaches yield unbiased estimates of the association of unauthorized status with health insurance coverage. We tested five methods under a range of missing data scenarios. Logic…
The Effect of Having Aggressive Friends on Aggressive Behavior in Childhood: Using Propensity Scores to Strengthen Causal Inference
This study uses propensity scores to statistically approximate the causal effect of having aggressive friends on aggressive behavior in childhood. Participants were 1,355 children (53% girls; 31% minority) in 97 third and fifth grade classrooms enrolled in the Classroom Peer Ecologies Project. Propensity scores were calculated to control for the impact of 21 relevant confounder variables related to having aggressive friendships and aggressive beh…
Geographic Imputation of Missing Activity Space Data from Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) GPS Positions
This research presents a pilot study to develop and compare methods of geographic imputation for estimating the location of missing activity space data collected using geographic ecological momentary assessment (GEMA). As a demonstration, we use data from a previously published analysis of the effect of neighborhood disadvantage, captured at the U.S. Census Bureau tract level, on momentary psychological stress among a sample of 137 urban adolesce…
Kids Safe and Smokefree (KiSS) Multilevel Intervention to Reduce Child Tobacco Smoke Exposure: Long-Term Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial
Background: Pediatricians following clinical practice guidelines for tobacco intervention (“Ask, Advise, and Refer” [AAR]) can motivate parents to reduce child tobacco smoke exposure (TSE). However, brief clinic interventions are unable to provide the more intensive, evidence-based behavioral treatments that facilitate the knowledge, skills, and confidence that parents need to both reduce child TSE and quit smoking. We hypothesized that a multile…
Development and preliminary validation of the Parenting around SNAcking Questionnaire (P-SNAQ)
Using decision trees to understand the influence of individual- and neighborhood-level factors on urban diabetes and asthma
Sensitivity and specificity of information criteria
Information criteria (ICs) based on penalized likelihood, such as Akaike’s information criterion (AIC), the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and sample-size-adjusted versions of them, are widely used for model selection in health and biological research. However, different criteria sometimes support different models, leading to discussions about which is the most trustworthy. Some researchers and fields of study habitually use one or the othe…
Neighborhood disadvantage moderates the effect of a mobile health intervention on adolescent depression
Selection, stability, and spuriousness: Testing Gottfredson and Hirschi's propositions to reinterpret street gangs in self‐control perspective
Overlooked in the extensive literature on self‐control theory are propositions with respect to street gangs. In Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) perspective, gangs are loose confederations of youth with low self‐control and their criminological relevance is attributable to “politics and romance” rather than to rigorous empirical research. Prior research is limited by the use of cross‐sectional data, which takes on added importance in light of rec…
Varying Coefficient Mediation Model and Application to Analysis of Behavioral Economics Data
This paper is concerned with causal mediation analysis with varying indirect and direct effects. We propose a varying coefficient mediation model, which can also be viewed as an extension of moderation analysis on a causal diagram. We develop a new estimation procedure for the direct and indirect effects based on B-splines. Under mild conditions, rates of convergence and asymptotic distributions of the resulting estimates are established. We furt…
The Role of Pre-Treatment Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Adolescent Substance Use Treatment Outcomes
Background: Prominent theories suggest that individuals with co-occurring traumatic stress symptoms (TSS) and substance use (SU) may be less responsive to SU treatment compared to those with SU only. However, empirical findings in adult samples are mixed, and there has been limited work among adolescents. This study assesses the association between TSS and SU treatment outcomes among trauma-exposed adolescents, using statistical methods to reduce…
A Causal Approach to Functional Mediation Analysis with Application to a Smoking Cessation Intervention
The increase in the use of mobile and wearable devices now allows dense assessment of mediating processes over time. For example, a pharmacological intervention may have an effect on smoking cessation via reductions in momentary withdrawal symptoms. We define and identify the causal direct and indirect effects in terms of potential outcomes on the mean difference and odds ratio scales, and present a method for estimating and testing the indirect …
Proximity to Combined Sewer Overflow-Impacted Waters in Philadelphia: A Geographic Information Systems Study to Explore Environmental Injustice
Background: Recreating in waterbodies impacted by combined sewer overflows (CSOs) can present health risks due to exposure to microbial pathogens. This study compares population characteristics of those living within walking distance to CSO-impacted versus nonimpacted waters in Philadelphia to determine whether these populations differ by race, ethnicity, and sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: Adults recreating at or near natural water bo…
Maternal responsiveness and toddler body mass index z-score: Prospective analysis of maternal and child mealtime interactions
A Tutorial for Propensity Score Weighting for Moderation Analysis With Categorical Variables: An Application Examining Smoking Disparities Among Sexual Minority Adults
OBJECTIVE: To provide step-by-step guidance and STATA and R code for using propensity score (PS) weighting to estimate moderation effects with categorical variables. RESEARCH DESIGN: Tutorial illustrating the key steps for estimating and testing moderation using observational data. Steps include: (1) examining covariate overlap across treatment groups within levels of the moderator; (2) estimating the PS weights; (3) evaluating whether PS weights…
Why Are Adolescent Cannabis Use Disorder Treatment Admissions Declining in the US? The Mediated Pathway of State Treatment Admissions Rates before and after Recreational Cannabis Legalization
Purpose: State-level prevalence data are used to investigate whether recreational cannabis legalization moderates the mediated pathway from the perception of low risk of harm, to cannabis use, to cannabis use disorder (CUD) treatment admissions, among adolescents (age 12–17) in the US. Methods: Annual state prevalence measures of perception of low risk, cannabis use, and CUD treatment admissions between 2008 and 2019 (N = 542 state-year observati…
Time-Varying Path-Specific Direct and Indirect Effects: A Novel Approach to Examine Dynamic Behavioral Processes with Application to Smoking Cessation
Behavioral processes are often complex, and vary over time, requiring intensive longitudinal data to effectively capture the dynamic elements involved. For example, examining daily socio-behavioral and treatment adherence data collected during a smoking quit attempt, can reveal how, when, and why withdrawal symptoms change, offering insight into critical windows of relapse-risk in the cessation process. However, analytical methods (e.g., time-var…
Medicine (15 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Computer Science (8 works) · Developmental psychology (7 works) · Environmental health (7 works) · Mathematics (7 works) · Statistics (7 works) · Demography (6 works) · Clinical Psychology (5 works) · Econometrics (5 works)