Having explained the rationale of our model,
we were now ready to undertake the MACS analysis
As a prerequisite for testing group mean differences,
MACS requires an assessment of measurement invariance (construct equivalence) between groups.
The relationship between latent variables and observable indicators in two groups must be similar to ensure that latent mean differences are not biased by the existence of disparate patterns of causal relationships
between constructs and indicators (Lubke et al., 2003).