Having explained the rationale of our model, we were
now ready to undertake theMACS 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).