Structural Equation Modeling with Mplus

chapter 7

Testing the Factorial Equivalenceof a Measuring Instrument

Analysis of Covariance Structures

Up to this point, all applications have illustrated analyses based on single samples. In this section, however, we focus on applications involving more than one sample where the central concern is whether or not components of the measurement model and/or the structural model are invariant (i.e., equivalent) across particular groups of interest. Throughout this chapter and others involving multigroup applications, the terms invariance and equivalence are used synonymously (and, likewise, the adjectives invariant and equivalent); use of either term is merely a matter of preference.

In seeking evidence of multigroup invariance, researchers are ...