Pros And Cons Of Structural Equation Modeling

The statistical base that was used to conclude and hypothesize the relationships between the studied variables relied mainly on cross-sectional studies and regression/bivariate correlations. The regression model has some disadvantages; in it, each independent variable is tested while adjusting for other independent variables, and there can be only one outcome. For this reason, it is difficult to estimate the direct and indirect effects on the outcome. Also, most of existing studies were conducted as cross-sectional studies; they assessed only the relationships between health outcomes at one point in time. Because of this, there is no indication of the sequence of the disease (i.e. the predictors or the factors that came beforehand, after, or during the onset of the disease) or the change in the status of the disease [206].
For these reasons, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) will be used in this study to assess the …show more content…
It allows people to rate the severity of pain and the impact of the pain on the main aspects of feeling and function. It has fifteen items and two subscales: pain severity and pain interference. Each item is rated on an eleven-point scale, from 0-10, where 0 indicates no problems and 10 indicates maximal problems [212]. The reliability and validity of BPI are supported by the literature. Test-retest reliability of pain severity and interference are 0.98 and 0.79, respectively. Construct validity was tested through the correlations with the same construct; the correlation between the pain severity subscale and the pain intensity scale (chronic pain grade) was 0.6. The correlation between pain interference subscale and disability scale (chronic pain grade) was 0.64 [213]. BPI was chosen because it measures pain severity as well as the reaction to the pain, which are the dimensions of pain. Also, it assesses the variability of pain over time: pain at its “worst,” “least,” “average,” and “now”