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. 2019 Jan 3;13(5):1133–1143. doi: 10.1038/s41396-018-0330-7
Multiple regression Structural Equation Modeling
Number of variables Only one dependent variable Several variables
Type of variables A variable can be either a predictor or an outcome A variable can be either observed (being endogenous or exogenous) or latent (= unmeasurable)
Theoretical content Descriptive Confirmatory
Purpose/use Exploratory studies Evaluation of multivariate hypotheses
Explanatory analyses
Method specificities Examination of 1-to-1 causal relationships Examination of networks of causal relationships