title: Multiple Group Analysis in Multilevel Structural Equation Model Across Level 1 Groups.
abstract: This article introduces and evaluates a procedure for conducting multiple group analysis in multilevel structural equation model across Level 1 groups (MG1-MSEM; Ryu, 2014). When group membership is at Level 1, multiple group analysis raises two issues that cannot be solved by a simple extension of the standard multiple group analysis in single-level structural equation model. First, the Level 2 data are not independent between Level 1 groups. Second, the standard procedure fails to take into account the dependency between members of different Level 1 groups within the same cluster. The MG1-MSEM approach provides solutions to these problems. In MG1-MSEM, the Level 1 mean structure is necessary to represent the differences between Level 1 groups within clusters. The Level 2 model is the same regardless of Level 1 group membership. A simulation study examined the performance of MUML (Muthén's maximum likelihood) estimation in MG1-MSEM. The MG1-MSEM approach is illustrated for both a multilevel path model and a multilevel factor model using empirical data sets.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Boston College.
authors.forename: Ehri
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ryu
mesh_terms: D035841:Behavioral Research; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D015233:Models, Statistical; D055361:Multilevel Analysis