New Developments in Mplus Version 7: Part 2 - Muthén & Muthén

Types Of Observed Variables In 3-Level AnalysisEach Y variable is decomposed asY ijk = Y 1ijk + Y 2jk + Y 3k ,where Y 1ijk , Y 2jk , and Y 3k are components of Y ijk on levels 1, 2, and 3.Here, Y 2jk , and Y 3k may be seen as random intercepts on respectivelevels, and Y 1ijk as a residualSome variables may not have variation over all levels. To avoidvariances that are near zero which cause convergence problemsspecify/restrict the variation levelWITHIN=Y, has variation on level 1, so Y 2jk and Y 3k are not inthe modelWITHIN=(level2) Y, has variation on level 1 and level 2WITHIN=(level3) Y, has variation on level 1 and level 3BETWEEN= Y, has variation on level 2 and level 3BETWEEN=(level2) Y, has variation on level 2BETWEEN=(level3) Y, has variation on level 3Bengt Muthén & Tihomir Asparouhov New Developments in Mplus Version 7 105/ 159