Nonlinear structural equation models within the frequentist framework were developed to work with continuous items. Applied researchers who usually work with Likert-type items choose between two strategies to estimate such models: treat items as continuous variables or create item parcels. Two Monte Carlo studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of each strategy on estimates and Type I errors for models with interaction and quadratic effects estimated using LMS. The first study evaluated the effect of asymmetry type and item quantity. The second assessed the use of item parcels and parcel configuration under equivalent conditions. Results reveal that treating items as continuous variables is not problematic when item categories are symmetrical or have opposite-direction asymmetries; however, meaningful parameter bias and increased Type I errors are produced in the case of same-direction asymmetry. Use of parcels does not overcome these problems. The results are discussed to provide recommendations for applied researchers.

中文翻译：

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项目和项目宗地在非线性结构方程模型中的使用

频繁框架内的非线性结构方程模型被开发用于连续项目。通常使用Likert型物品的应用研究人员会在两种策略之间进行选择，以估计此类模型：将物品视为连续变量或创建物品包裹。进行了两项蒙特卡洛研究，以评估每种策略对使用LMS估计的具有交互作用和二次效应的模型的估计值和I型错误的影响。第一项研究评估了不对称类型和项目数量的影响。第二个评估了在相同条件下物品包裹的使用和包裹配置。结果表明，当物品类别是对称的或具有相反方向的不对称性时，将物品视为连续变量是没有问题的。然而，在同向不对称的情况下，会产生有意义的参数偏差和I型误差增加。使用包裹不能克服这些问题。讨论结果为应用研究人员提供建议。