The effect that collapsing ordered polytomous variable scales has on structural equation measurement model parameter estimates was examined. Four parameter estimation procedures were investigated in a Monte Carlo study. Collapsing categories in ordered polytomous variables had little effect when latent projection procedures were used. (SLD)

Demonstrates how perspectives from covariance structural modeling and generalizability theory can be combined for a comprehensive assessment of latent constructs. This approach to examining variance components is illustrated by one- and two- facet designs, and can be extended to more complex designs. (MAK)

The sensitivity analysis of structural equation models when minor perturbation is introduced is investigated. An influence measure based on the general case weight perturbation is derived for the generalized least squares estimation, and an influence measure is developed for the special case deletion perturbation scheme. (Author/SLD)

Maximum likelihood is an important approach to analysis of two-level structural equation models. Different algorithms for this purpose have been available in the literature. In this paper, we present a new formulation of two-level structural equation models and develop an EM algorithm for fitting this formulation. This new formulation covers a…

Amos 5.0 (Arbuckle, 2003) permits exploratory specification searches for the best theoretical model given an initial model using the following fit function criteria: chi-square (C), chi-square--df (C--df), Akaike Information Criteria (AIC), Browne-Cudeck criterion (BCC), Bayes Information Criterion (BIC) , chi-square divided by the degrees of…

The purpose of this study was to determine the best-fitting structural equation model between the freshmen's physics achievement and selected affective characteristics related to physics. These characteristics are students' situational interest in physics, personal interest in physics, aspiring extra activities related to physics, importance of…

Studies that combine moderation and mediation are prevalent in basic and applied psychology research. Typically, these studies are framed in terms of moderated mediation or mediated moderation, both of which involve similar analytical approaches. Unfortunately, these approaches have important shortcomings that conceal the nature of the moderated…

We review fundamental issues in one traditional structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to analyzing longitudinal data--cross-lagged panel designs. We then discuss a number of new developments in SEM that are applicable to analyzing panel designs. These issues include setting appropriate scales for latent variables, specifying an appropriate…

This article shows how nonlinear latent curve models may be fitted for simultaneous analysis of multiple variables measured longitudinally using Mx statistical software. Longitudinal studies often involve observation of several variables across time with interest in the associations between change characteristics of different variables measured…

In the exploratory factor analysis, when the number of factors exceeds the true number of factors, the likelihood ratio test statistic no longer follows the chi-square distribution due to a problem of rank deficiency and nonidentifiability of model parameters. As a result, decisions regarding the number of factors may be incorrect. Several…

This article applies growth curve models to longitudinal count data characterized by an excess of zero counts. We discuss a zero-inflated Poisson regression model for longitudinal data in which the impact of covariates on the initial counts and the rate of change in counts over time is the focus of inference. Basic growth curve models using a…

Structural equation models are widely appreciated in behavioral, social, and psychological research to model relations between latent constructs and manifest variables, and to control for measurement errors. Most applications of structural equation models are based on fully observed data that are independently distributed. However, hierarchical…

As performance goals aim to both procure acknowledgment of one's abilities and to avoid revealing a lack of one's abilities, the authors hypothesized that students hold specific performance goals for different addressees and that there are specific correlational patterns with other motivational constructs. They analyzed a data set of 2,675 pupils…

The authors used a vulnerability-stress-adaptation framework to examine personality traits and chronic stress as predictors of the developmental course of physical aggression in the early years of marriage. Additionally, personality traits and physical aggression were examined as predictors of the developmental course of chronic stress. Data from…

The primary purpose of this research is to explore the impacts of knowledge creation practices on organizational performance improvement. Research has been empirically assessed on the basis of the collected data from three Korean private organizations. The concept of knowledge creation theory was adapted as the theoretical framework of this…