Reporting Structural Equation Modeling Results in Psychology and Aging: Some Proposed Guidelines

Structural equation modeling (SEM) is now widely used in social and behavioral science research. SEM provides the possibility of fitting, and evaluating the fit, of well-specified, theoretical models to empirical data-more generally, of testing elaborated psychological theories. The options available to users of these approaches are many and varied. Popular SEM computational software packages, such as LISREL and EQS, provide a large amount of information, and there is some uncertainty as to what should be routinely reported. A series of guidelines are proposed for reporting SEM results in articles submitted to Psychology and Aging. The suggested guidelines ask authors using SEM methodology to provide important analysis information that will enable readers to evaluate the findings.