Structural Equation Modeling

This chapter presents an overview of the process of structural equation modeling, involving the steps of model specification, model estimation, overall fit evaluation, model respecification, and local fit assessment (including interpreting the parameters of the model). Various extensions of the core structural equation model are described to enable more general representations of measurement and latent variable models as well as applications of the model to heterogeneous populations. An empirical example is provided to illustrate the process of structural equation modeling and to demonstrate some of the complexities that may arise in practical applications.