Describes a new approach for analyzing an individual's responses made at multiple times. Proposes that three sources of variance determine a person's current standing on a variable: trait (term does not change), state (term changes), and error (random term). Shows how structural equation modeling can be used and presents an extended example. (RJM)

The ability of 248 older adults to improve their performance on fluid intelligence tests, with or without tutor-guided instruction in cognitive skills, was studied using multidimensional longitudinal structural equation models. Results suggest considerable plasticity in adult intellectual function and the capacity to improve performance. (SLD)

Three models of achievement motivation in the classroom are contrasted. Results with 155 high school students suggest that the model of C. S. Dweck and E. S. Elliott offers a better explanation of the relationships among achievement motivation, attributions, emotional reactions, expectancies, and performance than do the other models. (SLD)

Data from the National Youth Study of 1976 are analyzed to explore the relations between conventional beliefs and attitudes and delinquent behavior. Using a stage-state analysis in addition to structural-equation models reveals aspects of the relation that are not apparent from structural equations alone. (SLD)

This overview of nonexperimental causal research methods focuses on latent variable structural equation modeling using the LISREL computer program. An extended example in special education is used to present LISREL as an extension of structural equations analysis (path analysis) and as a method of reducing the effects of error in research.…

The role of religious identity in positive youth development was examined in this study of personal meaning and prosocial concerns in adolescence. A structural equation model was tested on a sample of 801 urban public high school students. Participants responded to questionnaires assessing religious identity, personal meaning, and prosocial…

This study investigated an integrative model of the effects of peer victimization (PV) and peer rejection (PR) on youth adjustment using data from 508 middle-school students. In the proposed model, PV and PR each contribute independently to problems in emotional, behavioral, and academic adjustment. The adverse consequences of PV and PR are each…

It is frequently assumed that the student experience, and, by implication, student program satisfaction, improves over the course of a university education. A four-year panel study of students at a large commuter university indicates some improvements in assessments of professor performance and GPA between first and fourth year; however,…

Drawing from the Technology Acceptance Model, this correlational study was intended to determine student users' adoption of WebCT and its relationship to their final grade. In acknowledging the relevance of human-computer interaction, the author attempted to investigate a belief-attitude-behavior relationship in a WebCT setting. Given a social…

Our pervasive adoption of CMC in higher education has far outpaced our understanding of the nature of CMC and, accordingly, how this medium should best be used to promote higher-order learning (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, "American Journal of Distance Education," 15 (1), 7-23, 2001). Therefore, this study examined the relationship between peer…

The purpose of this study was to test a theoretical model that examined the extent to which cognitive readiness to parent, perceived difficult child temperament, observed parenting behaviors, and positive coping styles predicted parenting stress among young, low-income, first-time, African-American mothers. One hundred and twenty African-American,…

The linkages between self-regulation in childhood, risk proneness in early adolescence, and risky sexual behavior in mid-adolescence were examined in a cohort of children (N=518) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The possible mediating role of two early adolescent variables (substance use and negative peer pressure) was also…

An empirical research study based upon the expectancy-value model of Eccles and colleagues (1983) investigated the effect of gender-role orientations on psychological dimensions of female athletes' sport participation and the likelihood of their continued participation in a stereotypical masculine activity. The model (Eccles et al., 1983) posits…

The author conducted an empirical study based on structural equation modeling with a convenience sample of 246 individuals with the goal of demonstrating that recycling behavior is a routine conduct and should be addressed as such in educational materials. Although the classic hierarchy of effects dominates the interpretation of recycling behavior…

In this article, we formulate a nonlinear structural equation model (SEM) that can accommodate covariates in the measurement equation and nonlinear terms of covariates and exogenous latent variables in the structural equation. The covariates can come from continuous or discrete distributions. A Bayesian approach is developed to analyze the…