Longitudinal Structural Equation Modeling: A Comprehensive Introduction / Edition 1

Highlights include: The chapters can be read out of order but it is best to read chapters 1 – 4 first because most of the later chapters refer back to them. The book opens with a review of latent variables and analysis of binary and ordinal variables. Chapter 2 applies this information to assessing longitudinal measurement invariance. SEM tests of dependent means and proportions over time points are explored in Chapter 3, and stability and change, difference scores, and lagged regression are covered in Chapter 4. The remaining chapters are each devoted to one major type of longitudinal SEM — repeated measures analysis models, full cross-lagged panel models and simplex models, modeling stability with state-trait models, linear nonlinear growth curve models, latent difference score models, latent transition analysis, time series analysis, survival analysis, and attrition. Missing data is discussed in the context of many of the preceding models in Chapter 13. Ideal for graduate courses on longitudinal (data) analysis, advanced SEM, longitudinal SEM, and/or advanced data (quantitative) analysis taught in the behavioral, social, and health sciences, this text also appeals to researchers in these fields. Intended for those without an extensive math background, prerequisites include familiarity with basic SEM. Matrix algebra is avoided in all but a few places.