A General SEM Framework for Integrating Moderation and Mediation: The Constrained Approach

Modeling the combination of latent moderating and mediating effects is a significant issue in the social and behavioral sciences. Chen and Cheng (Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal 21: 94-101, 2014) generalized Joreskog and Yang's (Advanced structural equation modeling: Issues and techniques (pp. 57-88). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1996) constrained approach to allow for the concurrent modeling of moderation and mediation within the context of SEM. Unfortunately, due to restrictions related to Chen and Cheng's partitioning scheme, their framework cannot completely conceptualize and interpret moderation of indirect effects in a mediated model. In the current study, the Chen and Cheng (abbreviated below as C & C) framework is extended to accommodate situations in which any two pathways that constitute a particular indirect effect in a mediated model can be differentially or collectively moderated by the moderator variable(s). By preserving the inherent advantage of the C & C framework, i.e., the matrix partitioning technique, while at the same time further generalizing its applicability, it is expected that the current framework enhances the potential usefulness of the constrained approach as well as the entire class of the product indicator approaches.