Residual-Based Algorithm for Growth Mixture Modeling: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study

Frontiers in Psychology

Katerina M. Marcoulides¹  Laura Trinchera² 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States;NEOMA Business School, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France;

关键词: simulation study;    growth mixture modeling;    latent growth curve models;    individual case residuals;    unobserved heterogeneity;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.618647

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Growth mixture models are regularly applied in the behavioral and social sciences to identify unknown heterogeneous subpopulations that follow distinct developmental trajectories. Marcoulides and Trinchera (2019) recently proposed a mixture modeling approach that examines the presence of multiple latent classes by algorithmically grouping or clustering individuals who follow the same estimated growth trajectory based on an evaluation of individual case residuals. The purpose of this article was to conduct a simulation study that examines the performance of this new approach for determining the number of classes in growth mixture models. The performance of the approach to correctly identify the number of classes is examined under a variety of longitudinal data design conditions. The findings demonstrated that the new approach was a very dependable indicator of classes across all the design conditions considered.

【 授权许可】

CC BY