Basic philosophical and statistical issues in structural equation modeling (SEM) are reviewed, including model conceptualization, identification, and parameter estimation and data-model-fit assessment and model modification. These issues should be addressed before the researcher uses any of the new generation of SEM software. (SLD)

The distribution of technical and substantive structural equation modeling (SEM) articles published in psychological journals from 1987 to 1994 was studied through inspection of more than 1,050 abstracts in the "PsycLIT" system. There has been a clear increase in the number of journals and the number of substantive SEM articles. (SLD)

An earlier bibliography of nearly 300 technical publications about latent variable models is updated to acknowledge the growth of more specialized refinements of structural equation modeling. An additional 320 publications are annotated within a nine-part categorization system designed to group works roughly by topic. (SLD)

Goodness of fit indexes developed by R. P. McDonald (1989) and Satorra-Bentler scale correction methods (A. Satorra and P. M. Bentler, 1988) were studied. The Satorra-Bentler index is shown to have the least error under each distributional misspecification level when the model has correct structural specification. (SLD)

LISREL 8 invokes a ridge option when maximum likelihood or generalized least squares are used to estimate a structural equation model with a nonpositive definite covariance or correlation matrix. Implications of the ridge option for model fit, parameter estimates, and standard errors are explored through two examples. (SLD)

Goodness-of-fit (GOF) indexes provide "rules of thumb"?recommended cutoff values for assessing fit in structural equation modeling. Hu and Bentler (1999) proposed a more rigorous approach to evaluating decision rules based on GOF indexes and, on this basis, proposed new and more stringent cutoff values for many indexes. This article discusses…

Structural models were used to examine developmental stages of antisocial behavior and their relation to during-treatment performance of 245 probationers in an inpatient substance abuse treatment program. Separate childhood and adulthood antisocial functioning components predicted psychological functioning and program perceptions during treatment.…

Oral language skills and habits may serve as important resources for success or failure in school-related tasks such as learning to read. This article tests this hypothesis utilizing a unique data set, the original Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised norming sample. This article assesses the importance of oral language by focusing…

A structural equation model of educational outcomes was tested with three socioeconomic status (SES) groups of African American community college students. Results with 340 students who completed a followup indicate that higher levels of academic and social engagement had positive direct effects on educational outcomes for all students regardless…

The past decade has seen a tremendous growth in the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) to address research questions in 2 subfields of behavioral science: cancer prevention and control (e.g., determinants of cancer screening adherence) and behavioral oncology (e.g., determinants of psychosocial adjustment among cancer patients or…