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ERIC Number: ED677617
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 2025-04-07
Comparing Frequentist and Bayesian Methods for Factorial Invariance with Latent Distribution Heterogeneity
Grantee Submission, Behavioral Sciences v15 n4 Article 482 2025
Factorial invariance is critical for ensuring consistent relationships between measured variables and latent constructs across groups or time, enabling valid comparisons in social science research. Detecting factorial invariance becomes challenging when varying degrees of heterogeneity are present in the distribution of latent factors. This simulation study examined how changes in latent means and variances between groups influence the detection of noninvariance, comparing Bayesian and maximum likelihood fit measures. The design factors included sample size, noninvariance levels, and latent factor distributions. Results indicated that differences in factor variance have a stronger impact on measurement invariance than differences in factor means, with heterogeneity in latent variances more strongly affecting scalar invariance testing than metric invariance testing. Among model selection methods, goodness-of-fit indices generally exhibited lower power compared to likelihood ratio tests (LRTs), information criteria (ICs; except BIC), and leave-one-out cross-validation (LOO), which achieved a good balance between false and true positive rates.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305D210044
Department of Education Funded: Yes