Revisiting the Impact of Measurement Quality on Targeted Structural Model Fit Indexes in Structural Equation Modeling

This study examined the false positive rates and sensitivity of structural fit indexes to structural misspecification in SEM. The impact of sample size, model size, the magnitude of standardized factor loadings, and misspecified path effect on the fit indexes was also investigated. The structural fit indexes examined in this study included RMSEA-P, C9, C10 recommended by Lance et al., and C9(S), C10(S), RMSEA(S), and CFIS proposed by McNeish and Hancock. The results in the present study showed that the false positive rates of C9(S) and C10(S) were high when the sample size was small or when factor loadings were low, although their sensitivity was negligibly impacted by the size of factor loadings. The higher sensitivity of RSMEA-P, C9, and C10 was observed in conditions with more observed items with higher factor loadings. Empirical implications for applied researchers were discussed.

Automated summary

This study examined the effects of structural misspecification on fit indexes in SEM and found that sample size and factor loadings have significant impacts on fit indexes. The findings have practical implications for applied researchers.