Planned missing data designs allow researchers to have highly-powered studies by testing only a fraction of the traditional sample size. In two-method measurement planned missingness designs, researchers assess only part of the sample on a high-quality expensive measure, while the entire sample is given a more inexpensive, but biased measure. The…

Background: Over the past few decades early self-regulation has been identified as foundational to positive learning and wellbeing trajectories. As a consequence, a wide range of approaches have been developed to capture children's developmental progress in self-regulation. Little is known, however, about whether and which of these are reliable…

Based on the interplay between achievement goals theory and social comparison theory, our study focused on how achievement goals relate to subjective well-being in the school context in Chinese adolescents. Specifically, we addressed a theoretical model that specified that academic social comparisons and self-esteem would serve as mediators in the…

The relationship between motivation and EFL proficiency is an issue of great concern in previous research on foreign language learning. However, work in this area offers inconclusive evidence with regard to the directionality of their relations. Using cross-lagged structural equation modeling, this study investigated the directionality of the…

We examine longitudinal extensions of the two-method measurement design, which uses planned missingness to optimize cost-efficiency and validity of hard-to-measure constructs. These designs use a combination of two measures: a "gold standard" that is highly valid but expensive to administer, and an inexpensive (e.g., survey-based)…

Measurement invariance (MI) is a property of measurement that is often implicitly assumed, but in many cases, not tested. When the assumption of MI is tested, it generally involves determining if the measurement holds longitudinally or cross-culturally. A growing literature shows that other groupings can, and should, be considered as well.…

Parental involvement is well documented as a significant contributor to the self-efficacy and academic achievement of students. A structural equation model of parent involvement with family socioeconomic status, student gender, parents' aspirations for their children, mathematics efficacy, and mathematics achievement was tested to examine…

The purpose of this study was to use data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) to (a) conceptually identify and empirically establish student, family, and school constructs; (b) explore the degree to which the constructs can be measured equivalently across disability groups; and (c) examine latent differences (means,…

Latent difference score models (e.g., McArdle & Hamagami, 2001) are extended to include effects from prior changes to subsequent changes. This extension of latent difference scores allows for testing hypotheses where recent changes, as opposed to recent levels, are a primary predictor of subsequent changes. These models are applied to…

This article investigates three types of stage-sequential growth mixture models in the structural equation modeling framework for the analysis of multiple-phase longitudinal data. These models can be important tools for situations in which a single-phase growth mixture model produces distorted results and can allow researchers to better understand…

High quality measurements are important to evaluate interventions. The study reports on the development of a measurement to investigate authoritative teaching understood as a two-dimensional construct of warmth and control. Through the application of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) the factor structure…

A structural equation modeling method for examining time-invariance of variable specificity in longitudinal studies with multiple measures is outlined, which is developed within a confirmatory factor-analytic framework. The approach represents a likelihood ratio test for the hypothesis of stability in the specificity part of the residual term…

The coding of time in latent curve models has been shown to have important implications in the interpretation of growth parameters. Centering time is often done to improve interpretation but may have consequences for estimated parameters. This article studies the effects of coding and centering time when there is interindividual heterogeneity in…

This is the final report of the National Evaluation of Student Support Services (SSS). SSS is one of eight federally funded grant programs that are administered as part of the Federal TRIO Programs within the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The SSS program, in particular, focuses on students while they are enrolled in college. In general, SSS…

Provides an introduction to latent growth modeling (LGM), a branch of structural equation modeling that facilitates the evaluation of longitudinal change. Fundamental concepts related to growth modeling and notation are introduced; and variations, extensions, and applications of the technique are discussed. Touts LGM's versatility when considering…