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Results for “Structural equation modeling”

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PubMed2007

Factorial and construct validity of the athletic identity questionnaire for adolescents.

PURPOSE: This research describes the development of a measure of the general attribute of "athletic" in adolescents, encompassing exercise, sport, and physical activity. Based on a theoretical model supported in adults, the 40-item Athletic Identity Questionnaire (AIQ) for adolescents assesses four dimensions: appearance, competence, importance of activity, and encouragement from three sources: parents, friends, and teachers/other adults. METHODS: Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the hypothesized four-factor model in a development sample of 408 adolescents in eighth grade (mean age 13.4 yr). A separate sample (N = 1586) was used to cross-validate the final model. Construct validity was examined by testing the model's relationship to self-reported (Modifiable Activity Questionnaire-Adolescent, Previous Day Physical Activity Recall, Youth Risk Behavior Survey) and objectively measured physical activity (MTI accelerometer in sample 3, N = 100). RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-factor structure, and there was also support for a higher-order model. LISREL correlations between the AIQ factors and self-reported physical activity ranged from 0.32 to 0.61, TV watching from -0.20 to -0.50, and sport-team participation from 0.20 to 0.54. Pearson correlations between the AIQ factors and MTI vigorous physical activity ranged from 0.09 to 0.26 and MTI moderate from -0.06 to 0.22. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the factorial and construct validity of the AIQ for adolescents.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

The longitudinal structure of the Children's Depression Inventory: testing a latent trait-state model.

In a 6-wave longitudinal study, children (Grades 4-6, n = 648), adolescents (Grades 7-9, n = 1,489), and their parents completed child-adolescent or parent versions of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; M. Kovacs, 1981). Using structural equation modeling, the authors conducted latent trait-state analyses to distinguish between a stable trait dimension of depression (in which individual differences are stable over time) and an autoregressive dimension (in which individual differences are less stable over time). Children's CDIs reflected the autoregressive dimension more than a stable trait dimension, whereas parents' CDIs reflected a stable trait dimension more than an autoregressive dimension. Reports from adolescents and their parents reflected a stable trait dimension more than an autoregressive dimension of depressive symptoms. Results suggest that the longitudinal structure of the CDI varies considerably depending on the age of the target and the type of informant.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Determinants of physical activity among Taiwanese adolescents: an application of the health promotion model.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among interpersonal influences (i.e., social support, norms, modeling), behavior-specific cognitions (i.e., self-efficacy, perceived benefits/barriers), competing demands, and physical activity among Taiwanese adolescents (N = 832). The results from structural equation modeling indicated that perceived self-efficacy was the most important predictor of physical activity. Interpersonal influences, when considered in total, had a weak and nonsignificant direct effect on physical activity but had indirect effects on physical activity thorough perceived benefits and perceived self-efficacy. When sources of interpersonal influences were considered separately, parental influences did not have direct effects on physical activity. In contrast, peers did have a significant direct effect on physical activity and also indirect influences on physical activity through perceived self-efficacy. All variables accounted for 30% of the variance in physical activity. Results of this study identify important influences useful to health professionals for promoting physical activity in this population.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Statistical assessment of mediational effects for logistic mediational models.

The concept of mediation has broad applications in medical health studies. Although the statistical assessment of a mediational effect under the normal assumption has been well established in linear structural equation models (SEM), it has not been extended to the general case where normality is not a usual assumption. In this paper, we propose to extend the definition of mediational effects through causal inference. The new definition is consistent with that in linear SEM and does not rely on the assumption of normality. Here, we focus our attention on the logistic mediation model, where all variables involved are binary. Three approaches to the estimation of mediational effects-Delta method, bootstrap, and Bayesian modelling via Monte Carlo simulation are investigated. Simulation studies are used to examine the behaviour of the three approaches. Measured by 95 per cent confidence interval (CI) coverage rate and root mean square error (RMSE) criteria, it was found that the Bayesian method using a non-informative prior outperformed both bootstrap and the Delta methods, particularly for small sample sizes. Case studies are presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed method to public health research using a nationally representative database. Extending the proposed method to other types of mediational model and to multiple mediators are also discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Can government policies help adolescents avoid risky behavior?

BACKGROUND: This study examines the extent to which policies influence participation of adolescents in alcohol and tobacco consumption and in unsafe sex. METHODS: Data were obtained from the 1995 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) conducted by 20 different states and cities in the U.S. These data were combined with state data on cigarette taxes, vending machine laws, beer taxes, and family planning clinic availability. A model of teenage risk taking suggested that the three risk behaviors were codetermined by a common latent risk-taking propensity. We used a structural equation model (SEM) accounting for this shared latent propensity to estimate the extent of participation in terms of frequency of smoking, drinking, and the number of sex partners. RESULTS: Estimating simultaneous equations for all three risk behaviors was statistically more efficient than equation-by-equation estimates of each behavior. Estimates indicated significant deterrent effects of beer taxes, vending machine restrictions, and increased density of family planning clinics on teenage risk behavior. CONCLUSIONS: State policies, such as taxes on beer, and restrictions on location of cigarette vending machines, and placement of family planning clinics influence adolescents' behavior. Because there is interrelationship between these behaviors, systems estimators, can offer improved estimates of these effects.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Risk and protective factors for substance use among African American high school dropouts.

Risk and protective factors that predict substance use were investigated with 318 African American high school dropout youths who completed the 1992 follow-up of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988. A conceptual model linking positive family relationships and religious involvement to youths' substance use and conventional peer affiliations through a positive life orientation was examined with structural equation modeling. Positive life orientation, which included optimism and conventional goals for the future, fully mediated the influence of family relationships on conventional peer affiliations. Religious involvement directly predicted conventional peer affiliations and positive life orientation. Conventional peer affiliations mediated the other variables' influence on substance use.

Black or African American↗

PubMed2006

Functional outcome in TBI I: neuropsychological, emotional, and behavioral mediators.

Literature exists to suggest that the severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is positively associated with the severity of functional impairment. However, potential mediators of this relationship have not been studied systematically. In the present study, we evaluated a model hypothesized to explain the relationship between TBI severity and functional impairment in 87 patients with moderate-to-severe TBI, studied longitudinally. Using structural equation modeling, we found that only neuropsychological status (but not emotional or behavioral difficulties) consistently mediated the relationship between TBI severity and functional outcome at 12-months post-injury. These findings suggest that, of the factors examined here, neurocognitive compromise plays the most prominent role in mediating post-TBI adaptive functioning in moderate-to-severe TBI, which has important implications for post-injury interventions.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

An etiological model of attempted suicide among Vietnam theater veterans. Prospective generalization to a treatment-seeking sample.

The etiology of attempted suicide was investigated using both retrospective and prospective data from 402 Vietnam theater veterans who were receiving treatment in the Department of Veterans Affairs Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Teams Program. An etiological model that was developed previously for a community sample of Vietnam theater veterans was examined for its generalizability to this treatment-seeking sample. Structural equation modeling was used to first determine the similarity of significant paths in the treatment-seeking and community samples, and then to examine the applicability of the community-based model to the treatment-seeking sample. The community-based model achieved a very high fit with reasonably good parsimony with the treatment-seeking data. Causal paths in the treatment-seeking sample mirrored those in the community sample in that psychiatric symptoms (including posttraumatic stress disorder) were the sole factors contributing directly to attempted suicide. Traumatic military experiences played a substantial role, but only indirectly as they contributed to the development of psychiatric symptoms. The similarity of findings for previous and subsequent attempts eliminated a possible ambiguity in the direction of causation modeled for previous attempts.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Development of scales to measure perceived physical education class climate: a cross-national project.

Motivational research in the classroom has adopted a social cognitive perspective but has mainly been restricted to the study of individual achievement cognitions. In addition to this, there is a need to study and assess the perception children have of the class climate. Using social cognitive theory as a base, this research reports the development of class climate scales in French and English for use in physical education classes. Psychometric development with the French scale was shown to be satisfactory, including adequate factorial structure assessed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and good internal and test-retest reliability. A parallel English scale demonstrated a less adequate fit to the proposed model when using CFA, but shortened scales assessing just mastery and performance dimensions of climate were shown to predict important motivational measures in a structural equation modelling analysis.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Attempted suicide among Vietnam veterans: a model of etiology in a community sample.

OBJECTIVE: Data from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, conducted from 1986 to 1988, were used to develop an etiological model of attempted suicide among a community sample of 1,198 male Vietnam veterans. METHODS: In a three-step process, the authors used structural equation modeling to develop a model that they refined, cross-validated, and then specified in terms of its replicable paths. RESULTS: The final model possesses highly satisfactory fit and parsimony. General psychiatric disorders were the sole factors contributing directly to attempted suicide. General psychiatric disorders were in part products of both nonmilitary and military traumas, most specifically participation in abusive violence. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse were related to attempted suicide bivariately but not when considered in conjunction with general psychiatric disorders. Among premilitary risk factors, family instability contributed to attempted suicide indirectly through its influence on general psychiatric disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The etiology of attempted suicide among Vietnam veterans remains largely unexplained. A partial explanation is that the predominant and direct causes spring from general psychiatric disorders rather than from traumatic exposure, PTSD, or substance abuse. Traumatic exposure contributes directly to the development of PTSD and general psychiatric disorders but only indirectly to making a suicide attempt.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

The impact of need for closure on conservative beliefs and racism: differential mediation by authoritarian submission and authoritarian dominance.

The present study explores the influence of need for closure as well as authoritarian submission (Right-Wing Authoritarianism [RWA]) and authoritarian dominance (Social Dominance Orientation [SDO]) on the genesis of conservative beliefs and racism. For this purpose, two structural equation models were compared. In Model 1, RWA and SDO were entered as independent variables and the need for closure facets Decisiveness and Need for Simple Structure acted as mediator variables. In Model 2, the need for closure facets served as independent variables and RWA and SDO acted as mediators. In two student samples (Sample 1, N = 399, Sample 2, N = 330) and one adult sample (Sample 3, N = 379), Model 2 showed superior fit to the data. These results corroborate the hypothesis that authoritarianism should be interpreted in terms of generalized beliefs rather than in terms of personality characteristics. In addition, analyses show that the effects of Need for Simple Structure on conservative beliefs and racism are fully mediated by RWA but only partly by SDO. These results suggest a differential genesis of RWA and SDO.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Meta-analyses of age-cognition relations in adulthood: estimates of linear and nonlinear age effects and structural models.

A meta-analysis was conducted on 91 studies to derive a correlation matrix for adult age, speed of processing, primary-working memory, episodic memory, reasoning, and spatial ability. Structural equation modeling with a single latent common cognitive factor showed that all cognitive measures shared substantial portions of age-related variance. A mediational model revealed that speed of processing and primary-working memory appear to be important mediators of age-related differences in the other measures. However, not all of the age-related influences were mediated. An examination of quadratic age effects and correlational patterns for subsamples under and over 50 years of age revealed that (a) negative age-cognition relations were significant for the 18- to 50-year-old sample and (b) the age-related decline accelerated significantly over the adult life span for variables assessing speed, reasoning, and episodic memory.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Risk, protection, and substance use in adolescents: a multi-site model.

This article reports findings from a national longitudinal cross-site evaluation of high-risk youth to clarify the relationships between risk and protective factors and substance use. Using structural equation modeling, baseline data on 10,473 youth between the ages of 9 and 18 in 48 high-risk communities around the nation are analyzed. Youth were assessed on substance use (cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use), external risk factors including family, school, peer and neighborhood influences, and individual risk and protective factors including self-control, family connectedness, and school connectedness. Findings indicate strong direct relationships between peer and parental substance use norms and substance use. Individual protective factors, particularly family and school connectedness were strong mediators of individual substance use. These findings suggest that multi-dimensional prevention programming stressing the fostering of conventional anti-substance use attitudes among parents and peers, the importance of parental supervision, and development of strong connections between youth and their family, peers, and school may be most effective in preventing and reducing substance use patterns among high-risk youth.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Multitrait-multimethod models in aging research.

The multitrait-multimethod matrix is a versatile tool for structuring the design and analysis of studies in many areas of psychology, including the aging of psychological processes. The basic goal for which the multitrait-multimethod matrix was developed is the establishment of the construct validity of measures. With newer forms of analyzing multitrait-multimethod data, particularly those using structural equation modeling, it is possible to specify models and employ model comparisons for an even broader goal: the more adequate generalization of conclusions across the facets included in the study. Topics addressed in this paper include the design of multitrait-multimethod studies, the specification of an array of structural models for such data, model comparisons that allow the estimation of the degree of convergent validity, discriminant validity, and method variance exhibited by a set of measures, and the extension of structural models to more than a single group, which allows the testing of questions regarding means, as well as the traditional tests of differences in variance and covariance. The procedures discussed are then explicated by describing the representation of data from a hypothetical four-group study of memory employing a form of design that is common in research on aging. Strengths and weaknesses of the structural modeling approach to the analysis of multitrait-multimethod data are discussed.

Aging↗

PubMed2000

Motivation and dietary self-care in adults with diabetes: are self-efficacy and autonomous self-regulation complementary or competing constructs?

This study examined constructs drawn from social-cognitive theory (A. Bandura, 1986) and self-determination theory (E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 1985, 1991) in relation to dietary self-care and life satisfaction among 638 individuals with diabetes. A motivational model of diabetes dietary self-care was proposed, which postulates direct links between self-efficacy/autonomous self-regulation, and adherence/ life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling showed that both self-efficacy and autonomous self-regulation were associated with adherence (betas = .54 and .21, respectively) and with life satisfaction (betas = .15 and .34, respectively). Constraint analyses confirmed that self-efficacy was significantly more associated with adherence, whereas autonomous self-regulation was significantly more associated with life satisfaction. According to the model, interventions for dietary self-care and life satisfaction should focus on increasing self-efficacy and autonomous self-regulation.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Testicular self-examination: a test of the health belief model and the theory of planned behaviour.

The aim of this study was to test the utility and efficiency of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the health belief model (HBM) in predicting testicular self-examination (TSE) behaviour. A questionnaire was administered to an opportunistic sample of 195 undergraduates aged 18-39 years. Structural equation modelling indicated that, on the basis of all the fit indices, the TPB model was the better model, however, the quality of the models was very similar. The TPB explained 50% of the variance in intention and 22% in behaviour while the HBM (with self-efficacy) accounted for 56 and 21%, respectively. Self-efficacy was the most important predictor of TSE behavioural intention across both models. These findings contribute to the growing literature on the testing of multiple models in the health psychology domain.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Causal models in epidemiology: past inheritance and genetic future.

The eruption of genetic research presents a tremendous opportunity to epidemiologists to improve our ability to identify causes of ill health. Epidemiologists have enthusiastically embraced the new tools of genomics and proteomics to investigate gene-environment interactions. We argue that neither the full import nor limitations of such studies can be appreciated without clarifying underlying theoretical models of interaction, etiologic fraction, and the fundamental concept of causality. We therefore explore different models of causality in the epidemiology of disease arising out of genes, environments, and the interplay between environments and genes. We begin from Rothman's "pie" model of necessary and sufficient causes, and then discuss newer approaches, which provide additional insights into multifactorial causal processes. These include directed acyclic graphs and structural equation models. Caution is urged in the application of two essential and closely related concepts found in many studies: interaction (effect modification) and the etiologic or attributable fraction. We review these concepts and present four important limitations. 1. Interaction is a fundamental characteristic of any causal process involving a series of probabilistic steps, and not a second-order phenomenon identified after first accounting for "main effects". 2. Standard methods of assessing interaction do not adequately consider the life course, and the temporal dynamics through which an individual's sufficient cause is completed. Different individuals may be at different stages of development along the path to disease, but this is not usually measurable. Thus, for example, acquired susceptibility in children can be an important source of variation. 3. A distinction must be made between individual-based and population-level models. Most epidemiologic discussions of causality fail to make this distinction. 4. At the population level, there is additional uncertainty in quantifying interaction and assigning etiologic fractions to different necessary causes because of ignorance about the components of the sufficient cause.

Causality↗

PubMed2001

A social learning perspective: a model of parenting styles, self-regulation, perceived drinking control, and alcohol use and problems.

BACKGROUND: This investigation sought to determine how different parenting styles are related to general self-regulatory processes that are linked to alcohol use and abuse. Self-regulation and, more specifically, thoughts of control over drinking are forms of positive self-control mechanisms. Parenting styles are known determinants of both negative and positive self-control mechanisms in offspring. According to social learning theory, stronger relationships between parenting style and self-regulatory processes would be expected from the parent who is the same sex as the respondent. METHODS: A total of 144 female and 107 male college students currently using alcohol were administered a questionnaire on their alcohol use and problems, perceived style of parenting (authoritarian, permissive, or authoritative) of their parents, self-regulation, and perceived control of drinking. A model linking parenting styles, self-regulatory processes, and control over drinking with alcohol use and alcohol problems was tested across sex groups by using structural equation modeling. RESULTS: In general, the parenting style of the parent of the same sex as the respondent's was found to be significantly related to self-regulation, which is known to be protective against alcohol use and abuse. A permissive parent of the same sex as the respondent was negatively associated with good self-regulatory processes for both men and women. Having an authoritative mother was also shown to be related to higher levels of self-regulation for women. CONCLUSIONS: Self-regulation mediated the pathway from a permissive parenting style to perceived drinking control, which, in turn, mediated the pathway from self-regulation to alcohol use and problems. Finally, self-regulation mediated the positive pathway from an authoritative mother to perceived control over drinking for women.

Adult↗