A Simulation Study of the Performances of Multilevel Structural Equation Models with Small Samples : Frequentist Vs Bayesian

Multilevel structural equation models are highly useful, but complicated. Sample sizes can plausibly be small. Model complexity and small sample sizes pose challenges on asymptotic frequentist methods so that performances of maximum likelihood and Bayesian estimation are compared through this simulation study. Thoughtful use of Bayesian estimation is recommended.