Finally, to determine whether differential mediation of the density-to-child behavior association between the two parenting subgroups explained the greater magnitude of the density effect in the less effectively parented subgroup, we conducted a multiple group analysis of the mediated model in Figure 3 comparing the two parenting subgroups. All structural paths were constrained to be equal across the groups. This resulted in a model that fit the data well: χ2 (217)=330.191, p=.00, CFI=.96, RMSEA=.05. When the structural paths were freed across groups, model fit was marginally improved, χ2 (23)=33.69, p<.10. The individual standardized path coefficients are shown in Table 3. There were individual paths from density to the mediators, and from the mediators to child behavior, that were appreciably different across groups. For example, density and mother alcohol use were significantly associated for the less effective parenting subgroup but not for the more effective parenting subgroup. Father mental health was significantly associated with BD and with CP for the more effective, but not for the less effective, parenting subgroups. However, these differences were not reflected in mediation z-scores because group
