ERIC Number: ED588082
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 35
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Structural Equation Modeling of Social Networks: Specification, Estimation, and Application
Liu, Haiyan; Jin, Ick Hoon; Zhang, Zhiyong
Grantee Submission
Psychologists are interested in whether friends and couples share similar personalities or not. However, no statistical models are readily available to test the association between personalities and social relations in the literature. In this study, we develop a statistical model for analyzing social network data with the latent personality traits as covariates. Because the model contains a measurement model for the latent traits and a structural model for the relationship between the network and latent traits, we discuss it under the general framework of structural equation modeling (SEM). In our model, the structural relation between the latent variable(s) and the outcome variable is no longer linear or generalized linear. To obtain model parameter estimates, we propose to use a two-stage maximum likelihood (ML) procedure. This modeling framework is evaluated through a simulation study under representative conditions that would be found in social network data. Its usefulness is then demonstrated through an empirical application to a college friendship network. [This paper was published in "Multivariate Behavioral Research."]
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305D140037; 1461355
Author Affiliations: N/A