Latent class analysis (LCA) is a statistical method used to identify a set of discrete, mutually exclusive latent classes of individuals based on their responses to a set of observed categorical variables. In multiple-group LCA, both the measurement part and structural part of the model can vary across groups, and measurement invariance across…

The search for cut-off criteria of fit indices for model fit evaluation (e.g., Hu & Bentler, 1999) assumes that these fit indices are sensitive to model misspecification, but not to different types of models. If fit indices were sensitive to different types of models that are misspecified to the same degree, it would be very difficult to establish…

Mediators are variables that explain the association between an independent variable and a dependent variable. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is widely used to test models with mediating effects. This article illustrates how to construct confidence intervals (CIs) of the mediating effects for a variety of models in SEM. Specifically, mediating…

Multilevel models have come to play an increasingly important role in many areas of social science research. However, in contrast to other modeling strategies, there is currently no widely used approach for graphically diagramming multilevel models. Ideally, such diagrams would serve two functions: to provide a formal structure for deriving the…

Few genetically-informative studies have attempted to explicitly identify the "shared environmental" (i.e., those environmental influences that contribute to sibling similarity) factors now known to contribute to adolescent delinquency. The current study therefore examined whether the parent-child relationship served as one source of these shared…

Two studies investigated the degree to which the relationship between rapid automatized naming (RAN) performance and reading development is driven by shared phonological processes. Study 1 assessed RAN, phonological awareness, and reading performance in 1010 7- to 10-year-olds. Results showed that RAN deficits occurred in the absence of…

This study introduces a novel application of structural equation modeling (SEM) for the analysis of cortisol data that are collected using a pre-post-post design. By way of an extended example, an SEM model is developed that permits an examination of both the overall level of cortisol, as well as changes in cortisol (reactivity and regulation), as…

This investigation examined the impact combinations of at-risk factors had on 10,373 high school students in an urban school district from the school years 2000-2001 to 2006-2007. Students were categorized as high school graduates or dropouts. At-risk factors were associated with each student record. Hypothetical structural models were created for…

The purpose of this study was to empirically examine college graduate, faculty, and human resource manager descriptions of needed, received, and further training in eight employability dimensions of literacy and numeracy, critical thinking, management, leadership, interpersonal, information technology, systems thinking skills, and work ethic…

The present study investigated how maternal HIV and mediating family processes are associated with adolescent distress, substance use, and risky sexual behavior. Mother-adolescent (ages 12-21) dyads (N = 264) were recruited from neighborhoods where the HIV-affected families resided (161 had mothers with HIV). Mediating family processes were youth…

This study uses an ecological systems framework to examine how indicators of individual, family, and school contexts are associated with post-secondary educational enrollment among a sample of rural youth. Structural equation modeling allows us to examine both direct and indirect effects of these contexts on school enrollment. Unique elements of…

Recent literature on the determinants of academic motivation has shown that parenting and emotions are central elements in understanding students' achievement goals. The authors of this study set out to examine the predictive relationship between parental behaviors during the last year of elementary school and adolescents' achievement goals at the…

Decades of research have examined factors involved in complex, and sometimes stressful, interpersonal interactions between individuals with and without disabilities. The present study applies structural equation modeling to test an integrative model of individual and situational factors affecting encounters between able-bodied college students and…

Peer victimization experiences represent developmentally salient stressors among adolescents and are associated with the development of internalizing symptoms. However, the mechanisms linking peer victimization to adolescent psychopathology remain inadequately understood. This study examined emotion dysregulation as a mechanism linking peer stress…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether students' perceptions of their school environment and their adjustment to school are associated with health outcomes across gender and age groups. Design/methodology/approach: Data from the cross-sectional international Health Behavior in School-aged Children Survey of the year 2002…