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PSY417: Research Methods and Practice

Week 10 – Structural Equation Modelling

Faculty Of Health
Dr. Rebecca Williams
SEM1 2023
Today’s Lecture Outline

• What is SEM?
• Confirmatory Factor Analysis
• Path analysis

• SEM basics

• Running SEM

• Journal club
2
Readings

Recommended reading (will not be examinable)

available online through CDU Library:

Blunch, N. J. (2013). Introduction to Structural

Equation Modelling using IBM SPSS Statistics and
AMOS.

3
What is Structural Equation Modelling?

4
Structural Equation Modelling

Science is all about models

Models are simplified

descriptions of a phenomenon
being researched

Source: Blunch (2013) 5

Structural Equation Modelling
• SEM is a collection of tools to
analyse the possible connections
and their strengths

• Is implemented to test models

against empirical data

• Is (dis)confirmatory rather than

exploratory
Source: Blunch (2013) 6
Structural Equation Modelling
“If a model is consistent with reality, then the data
should be consistent with the model. But if the data are
consistent with the model, this does not imply that the
model corresponds to reality”
(Kline, 2011).

SEM can help us reject false models but cannot confirm

a model when the true model is unknown. 7
Structural Equation Modelling
• SEM is a collection of tools to analyse the possible
connections and their strengths

• It is not one statistical technique, but involves

• Factor analysis
• Path analysis
• Regression
8
Confirmatory Factor Analysis Error terms are
uncorrelated

Every item is connected Item only connected with

• In EFA, the data is reduced with every factor its pre-specified factor

by loading variables
(referred to as ‘indicators’)
onto factors without any a
priori knowledge

• CFA is hypothesis-driven and

is used to test models of
factor structure Some error terms can
correlate
9
Source: Streiner (2005)
Why confirmatory factor analysis?
• It can look at correlated measurement error

• It can test whether a multi-factor model is redundant over a

unifactorial model

• It can test whether a model is ‘invariant’ across groups

• Can evaluate a measurement model as part of SEM

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Why confirmatory factor analysis?
Can be used to test different models:

And more complex models:

11
Source: towardsdatascience.com/confirmatory-factor-analysis-theory
Characteristics of CFA
• The number of factors and their observed
indicators (i.e. items or variables) must be
specified prior to analysis

• Each factor must have 2+ (3, really)

indicators

• Model plausibility is tested with fit indices

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CFA fit indices

13
Source: towardsdatascience.com/confirmatory-factor-analysis-theory
Structural Equation Modelling
• SEM is a collection of tools to analyse the possible
connections and their strengths

• It is not one statistical technique, but integrates

• Factor analysis
• Path analysis
• Regression
14
Path Analysis
• Extension of multiple
regression

• Allows for analysis of more

complicated models

• Previously (and erroneously)

referred to as causal
modelling
Source: Streiner (2005) 15
Path Analysis Independent model Multiple regression model
Mediated or indirect models

• Exogenous variables = straight arrow

emerges from it, but none point at
it, e.g. ‘Children’ in Fig. 2(a).

• Endogenous variables = at least one

straight arrow points at it, e.g.
‘Depression’ in Fig. 2(a)

• Curved, double-headed arrow =

correlation (or ‘covariance’)

Extending model to have Source: Streiner (2005) 16

2 endogenous variables
Path Analysis
• d is added on as error term
(”disturbance”)

• Might reflect:
1. Imprecise measurement of the
endogenous variable, and/or

2. Influence of other, non-

measured factors influencing
endogenous variable
Feedback loop (‘non-recursive’)
are ill-advised 17
Source: Streiner (2005)
Covariance
• Important term in path
analysis/SEM

• Reflects the degree to which to

variables covary together
• Related to correlation

• Can have positive or negative

values, but are not limited to be
between -1 and 1
(unstandardized)
18
Structural Equation Modelling
• SEM is a collection of tools to analyse the possible
connections and their strengths

• It is not one statistical technique, but involves

• Factor analysis
• Path analysis
• Regression
19
SEM basics

20
SEM terminology

Observed Observed
variable variable

Latent
variable

Direct effects

Covariances
21
Type of research questions best suited for
SEM
• When key constructs are complex and multi-faceted

• When systems of relationships are of interest, rather

than DVs and predictors

• When focus is placed on indirect- or mediated- as well

as direct effects of variables on other variables
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Example research question using SEM
Rocco et al. (2021)
Prior research suggests that ADHD severity
correlates with parent’s stress score; and health-
related quality of life (HRQoL) in lower in ADHD
children

“The current study set out to... evaluate the

association between symptom severity, the HRQoL
of the children, and the family burden.

We hypothesized that children’s HRQoL can mediate

the impact of ADHD severity on family burden.”
23
Source: Rocco et al. (2021)
SEM components

There are two main components to SEM:

1. Measurement model

2. Structural model

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Measurement model
• Confirmatory factor analysis model

• Main objective is to discover the reliability and validity of the observed

variables in relation to the latent variables

• Relationship between latent and observed variable indicated by factor

loadings

• A factor loading of 0.40 per observed variable is deemed acceptable

25
Source: Shanmugam & Marsh (2015)
Structural model
If the measurement model asks whether the observed
variables are accurately measuring the latent variables,
the structural model asks how they are related

• Regression paths are fit between concepts

• Tests the extent to which the theorized relationships

are supported
26
Source: Shanmugam & Marsh (2015)
Possible issues with SEM
Sample size: should be 200 minimum

• 5-10 participants per observed variable

• Item parceling is often performed to overcome this:

observed variables (items of the latent variable) are grouped
together (by summing or averaging) in one or more ’parcels’.
• Parcels used instead of individual items
27
Source: Shanmugam & Marsh (2015)
Possible issues with SEM
Model specification

• Testable model(s) are developed and specified.

• The model should be over-identified: the number of observed variables is

greater than the number of parameters to be estimated.

• Model identification can be determined with this equation, where p is number

of observed variables:

(𝑝 + 1)
𝑝= > 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑
2 28
Source: Shanmugam & Marsh (2015)
Running SEM

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1. Determine the model specification based
on literature

You should have a good idea of the type of model

you want to test and why.

The model must be testable.

There should be a clear idea of the concepts that

form the theoretical model. 30
2. Specify the model

Draw the measurement and structural models

31
Source: Streiner (2005)
3. Determine model identification

This is where an over-specified model is desirable.

The alternative are under-specified (number of

parameters that need to be estimated > number of
observed variables)

Most SEM software packages will flag errors.

32
4. Select measures, collect, prepare and
screen data

Better measures lead to more reliable analyses.

Methods of model fit assessment can be heavily

impacted by issues with underlying measures.

Don’t forget your assumption testing- check for outliers!

33
5. Estimate the model parameters
Run the analyses.

Model estimation determines how the tested model fits the data based on how the
data generated (“observed covariance matrix”) is equivalent to the model-implied
matrix (“hypothetical model”):
Σ = Σ(𝜃)

Sigma (Σ) is the covariance matrix of the observed variance

Theta (𝜃) is a vector of population parameters

Think of the ‘hand-in-glove’ metaphor: the glove is the model, Σ 𝜃 , and the hand is
the data, Σ.
To find a good fit for the data, the lack of fit (too big or too small) is given by the
vector 𝜃. Source: Shanmugam & Marsh (2015)
34
6. Evaluate the model fit
This is done in SEM using the chi-square (𝜒 ! )statistic.

Tests the H0 that there is no difference between the

predicted model and the observed data.

Several fit statistics are used

- Root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)
- Akaike/Bayesian Information Criterion (AIC/BIC)
35
Source: Shanmugam & Marsh (2015)
7. If needed- respecify the model
Most software packages will give modification indices (MIs).
These give an indication of how much the model chi-square
statistic will improve by freeing certain parameters.

If the model’s fit is inadequate, then the model needs to be

respecified.

But this should be grounded in theoretical relevance. 36

Source: Shanmugam & Marsh (2015)
8. Report the results
Include a figure that depicts the measurement and
structural models.

Include a table that summarises the paths

- Direct
- Indirect
- Total
37
Running SEM
• SPSS has a plug-in called
‘AMOS’ that can be used
• Paid
• Only works on Windows

• Jamovi has a free module

for SEM and plenty of
instructional videos
38
Journal club

39
40
Introduction
• Social and familial support, and social group membership,
can positively impact resiliency and mental health.

• Social cognitive skills (SCS) are personal-cognitive factors

affecting mental health. They are crucial in order to
perceive and process relevant social cues in interactions
• Emotion and social cue perception
• Implicated in empathizing/mentalizing with others
41
Introduction
• Social determinants of health (SHD) include conditions in
which people are born, grow, live, work and age.
• Includes negative (violent experiences, social isolation) and
positive (familial support, sense of belonging) factors

• SCS and SHD are intertwined: Impairments in SCS can

confer psychosocial risk, isolation, dysfunctional coping
styles that lead to poor mental health.
42
Introduction
• In addition to social factors predicting mental health, other classical predictors
include
• Previous psychiatric antecedents
• Physical-somatic conditions
• Poor executive functioning
• Aging
• Sex: depression/anxiety is higher in women than men

• SCS and SDS are predictors of mental health but have only been studied in
isolation.

• Further understanding of the relative weight of those factors compared to

these classical predictors
43
Research aims and hypotheses
• A large dataset containing the classic predictors of mental health, plus SCS, SDH, and
measures of mental illness (anxiety, depression, psychiatric symptoms) in adults was
analyzed.

• Research aimed to test the causal relationships between these variables, focussing on the
prediction of symptoms of mental illness from SCS, SDH, and classic predictors (5 different
SEMs).

• Hypotheses
1. Significant prediction values and good model fit of SEMs containing SCS, SDH, and a
global SEM where SCS, SHD and classic predictors are integrated.
2. Most accurate prediction of symptoms of mental illness will be by combining SCS, SDH,
and classic predictors.
3. There will be reciprocal relationships between social and classic factors in predicting
symptoms of mental health. 44
Methods
Participants
• 18-59 years (mean age = 42.6 years, +/- 16.5 years)
• N = 2947

45
Methods
Instruments
• Symptoms of mental illness: SRQ-29 (outcome variable)

SCS
1. Emotion recognition task
2. Empathy for pain task

SHD
1. Social adverse and social protective factors
46
Methods
Instruments
Classic factors
1. Psychiatric antecedents
2. Physical-somatic factors (e.g. diabetes, hypertension)
3. Cognitive functioning
4. Assessment of covariables (sex and age)

47
1: The SCS-SEM

48
2: The SDH-SEM

49
3: The global social-SEM

50
4: The classical psycho-social-physical SEM

51
5: The global-integrated SEM

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Results: Descriptive analysis of measures

53
Result: Parameters of goodness-of-fit (Fit
indices)

The global-integrated model showed the highest fit indices in comparison to the
other models.
54
Discussion
“In this randomized probabilistic design, we evaluated to what
extent a combined set of social factors (SCS and SDH) is able to
predict symptoms of mental illness.

SEMs using SCS and SDH reached high fit values and showed that
those factors are able to predict symptoms of mental illness.

Moreover, our results show that the integrated social model (SCS
and SDH) reached even higher prediction scores of symptoms of
mental illness compared with models using classical predictors.”
55
Limitations
• Self-reported measures of mental illness can
underestimate or overestimate predictors due to recall
bias.

• Results were obtained from a low and middle-income

country (Colombia).

56
Conclusion
“Our results highlight the importance of social factors as
robust predictors of symptoms of mental illness when they
are compared to classical factors.

Our results may call for the development of new strategies

to assess different levels of social dimensions to predict
symptoms of mental illness and thus potentially screen and
diagnose psychiatric illness and intervene early.”
57
References
• Rocco, I., Bonati, M., Corso, B. & Minicuci, N. (2021). Quality of life
improvement in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
reduces family’s strain: A structural equation model approach. Child:
care, health and development, 47(5), 667-674.

• Shanmugam, V. & Marsh, J.E. (2015). Application of structural

equation modeling to the social sciences: A brief guide for
researchers. Mesure et evaluation en education, 37(3), 99-123.

• Streiner, D.L. (2005). Finding our way: An introduction to path

analysis. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 50(2), 115-122.
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