TPC Journal V7, Issue 4 - FULL ISSUE

The Professional Counselor | Volume 7, Issue 4 337 PTSD and PTG can co-occur in participants. It is further hypothesized that those who report higher optimism scores will have higher PTG scores. Finally, it is hypothesized that those who report higher religious commitment scores will have higher PTG scores. Figure 1. The Hypothesized Model With SEM, there are two basic variables—unobserved and observed (Schreiber, 2008). Unobserved variables are called latent factors and are graphically depicted with circles or ovals. Observed variables are called manifest variables and are represented graphically with squares or rectangles. Large circles in the graphic represent latent constructs, and small circles represent measurement errors (in observed variables) or disturbances (in equation measurement). Straight, single-headed arrows are indicative of unidirectional paths. The arrow starts from the independent variable and points to the dependent variable. A curved arrow connecting two variables indicates two variables expected to co-vary; however, no hypothesis is made about their causality (O’Rourke & Hatcher, 2013). Finally, SEM comprises two components: a measurement model, also called CFA, and a theoretical or structural model (Schreiber, 2008). While the measurement model specifies the relationship of the latent to the observed variables, the structural model identifies specific relationships among the latent variables. The objectives of the SEM are to determine whether a theoretical model is supported by the data collected, and to test the hypothesized direct relationships between independent, or exogenous, variables and dependent, or endogenous, variables. The hypotheses testing in SEM consists of several