Structural Equation Models in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: Model Building

Abstract

ANDERSON, JAMES G. Structural Equation Models in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: Model Building. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1987, 58, 49-64. Structural equation modeling techniques and associated computer programs are now widely available for use in the social and behavioral sciences. However, most reported applications are limited to simple models involving one-way causation among observed variables measured at 1 point in time. These models, and the theories on which they are based, generally fail to incorporate reciprocal causation, feedback, and measurement error. This article illustrates recent methodological developments that pennit investigators to construct, estimate, and test complex causal models. The model-building process has been illustrated by reformulating a series of models based on a published study of the effects of family socialization on achievement. The results have been presented in a way that should make this methodology more accessible to social scientists.