Measurement invariance (MI) describes the equivalence of measurement models of a construct across groups or time. When comparing latent means, MI is often stated as a prerequisite of meaningful group comparisons. The most common way to investigate MI is multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA). Although numerous guides exist, a recent…

Many applications of structural equation modeling involve ordinal (e.g., Likert) variables. A popular way of dealing with ordinal variables is to estimate the model with polychoric correlations rather than Pearson correlations. Such an estimation also requires the asymptotic covariance matrix of polychoric correlations. It is computationally…

Simulation studies are needed to investigate how many score categories are sufficient to treat ordered categorical data as continuous, particularly for bifactor models. The current simulation study aims to address such needs by investigating the performance of estimation methods in the bifactor models with ordered categorical data. Results support…

Mediation analysis is an important statistical tool in many research fields, where the joint significance test is widely utilized for examining mediation effects. Nevertheless, the limitation of this mediation testing method stems from its conservative Type I error, which reduces its statistical power and imposes certain constraints on its…

Dominance analysis (DA) is a very useful tool for ordering independent variables in a regression model based on their relative importance in explaining variance in the dependent variable. This approach, which was originally described by Budescu, has recently been extended to use with structural equation models examining relationships among latent…

This study examined the relationship between demands, resources, meaningful work, and burnout of counselors-in-training. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that demands and resources significantly predicted burnout of counselors-in-training, whereas meaningful work did not mediate the relationship between resources and burnout.…

The integration of AI-chatbots into higher education offers the potential to enhance learning practices. This research aims to explore the factors influencing AI-chatbots adoption within higher education, with a focus on the moderating roles of technological proficiency and academic discipline. Utilizing a survey-based approach and advanced…

A full structural equation model (SEM) typically consists of both a measurement model (describing relationships between latent variables and observed scale items) and a structural model (describing relationships among latent variables). However, often researchers are primarily interested in testing hypotheses related to the structural model while…

In the past decade, moderated mediation analysis has been extensively and increasingly employed in social and behavioral sciences. With its widespread use, it is particularly important to ensure the moderated mediation analysis will not bring spurious results. Spurious effects have been studied in both mediation and moderation analysis, but this…

Background: Science identity is widely regarded as a key predictor of students' persistence in STEM fields, while the brain drain in STEM fields is an urgent issue for countries to address. Based on previous studies, it is logical to suggest that epistemological beliefs about science and reflective thinking contribute to the development of science…

A two-level data set can be structured in either long format (LF) or wide format (WF), and both have corresponding SEM approaches for estimating multilevel models. Intuitively, one might expect these approaches to perform similarly. However, the two data formats yield data matrices with different numbers of columns and rows, and their "cols :…

This study uses one-step meta-analytic structural equation modelling to delve into the technology acceptance model's (TAM) application within education, assessing perceived usefulness, ease of use, intentions to use, and actual technology use. It synthesises previous findings to validate the TAM's effectiveness and uncover the model's predictive…

The recently proposed "continuous-time latent curve model with structured residuals" (CT-LCM-SR) addresses several challenges associated with longitudinal data analysis in the behavioral sciences. First, it provides information about process trends and dynamics. Second, using the continuous-time framework, the CT-LCM-SR can handle…

This study aimed to examine the psychosocial predictors of peer bullying among middle school students. For this purpose, structural equation modeling (SEM), including peer bullying, school culture, parental rejection, basic psychological needs, and social emotional learning (SEL) skills, was tested. The data were collected from 565 middle school…

Mediation models have been widely used in many disciplines to better understand the underlying processes between independent and dependent variables. Despite their popularity and importance, the appropriate sample sizes for estimating those models are not well known. Although several approaches (such as Monte Carlo methods) exist, applied…