{"title":"Label Switching in Latent Class Analysis: Accuracy of Classification, Parameter Estimates, and Confidence Intervals","authors":"Meng Qiu, Ke-Hai Yuan","doi":"10.1080/10705511.2023.2213842","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><b>Abstract</b></p><p>Latent class analysis (LCA) is a widely used technique for detecting unobserved population heterogeneity in cross-sectional data. Despite its popularity, the performance of LCA is not well understood. In this study, we evaluate the performance of LCA with binary data by examining classification accuracy, parameter estimation accuracy, and coverage rates of confidence intervals (CIs) through Monte Carlo simulation studies. We address the issue of label switching with a distance-based relabeling approach and introduce an index to measure separation among latent classes. Our results show that classification accuracy, parameter estimation accuracy, and CI coverage rates are primarily influenced by class separation and the number of indicators used for LCA. We recommend using a large sample size to mitigate the effects of tiny class sizes. Additionally, the study finds that the parametric bootstrap CIs perform comparably well or better when compared with the CIs based on the standard maximum likelihood method.</p>","PeriodicalId":21964,"journal":{"name":"Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal","volume":"91 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2023.2213842","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MATHEMATICS, INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Latent class analysis (LCA) is a widely used technique for detecting unobserved population heterogeneity in cross-sectional data. Despite its popularity, the performance of LCA is not well understood. In this study, we evaluate the performance of LCA with binary data by examining classification accuracy, parameter estimation accuracy, and coverage rates of confidence intervals (CIs) through Monte Carlo simulation studies. We address the issue of label switching with a distance-based relabeling approach and introduce an index to measure separation among latent classes. Our results show that classification accuracy, parameter estimation accuracy, and CI coverage rates are primarily influenced by class separation and the number of indicators used for LCA. We recommend using a large sample size to mitigate the effects of tiny class sizes. Additionally, the study finds that the parametric bootstrap CIs perform comparably well or better when compared with the CIs based on the standard maximum likelihood method.
期刊介绍：
Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal publishes refereed scholarly work from all academic disciplines interested in structural equation modeling. These disciplines include, but are not limited to, psychology, medicine, sociology, education, political science, economics, management, and business/marketing. Theoretical articles address new developments; applied articles deal with innovative structural equation modeling applications; the Teacher’s Corner provides instructional modules on aspects of structural equation modeling; book and software reviews examine new modeling information and techniques; and advertising alerts readers to new products. Comments on technical or substantive issues addressed in articles or reviews published in the journal are encouraged; comments are reviewed, and authors of the original works are invited to respond.
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