Description
Latent profile analysis (LPA), a type of finite mixture model, has grown in popularity due to its ability to detect latent classes or unobserved subgroups within a sample. Though numerous methods exist to determine the correct number of classes, past research has repeatedly demonstrated that no one method is consistently the best as each tends to struggle under specific conditions. Recently, the likelihood incremental percentage per parameter (LI3P), a method using a new approach, was proposed and tested which yielded promising initial results. To evaluate this new method more thoroughly, this study simulated 50,000 datasets, manipulating factors such as sample size, class distance, number of items, and number of classes. After evaluating the performance of the LI3P on simulated data, the LI3P is applied to LPA models fit to an empirical dataset to illustrate the method’s application. Results indicate the LI3P performs in line with standard class enumeration techniques, and primarily reflects class separation and the number of classes.
Details
Title
- Evaluating the Performance of the LI3P in Latent Profile Analysis Models
Contributors
- Houpt, Russell Paul (Author)
- Grimm, Kevin J (Thesis advisor)
- McNeish, Daniel (Committee member)
- Edwards, Michael C (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2022
Subjects
Resource Type
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Note
- Partial requirement for: M.A., Arizona State University, 2022
- Field of study: Psychology