ERIC Number: EJ935328
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 31
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0027-3171
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Bayesian Inference for Growth Mixture Models with Latent Class Dependent Missing Data
Lu, Zhenqiu Laura; Zhang, Zhiyong; Lubke, Gitta
Multivariate Behavioral Research, v46 n4 p567-597 2011
"Growth mixture models" (GMMs) with nonignorable missing data have drawn increasing attention in research communities but have not been fully studied. The goal of this article is to propose and to evaluate a Bayesian method to estimate the GMMs with latent class dependent missing data. An extended GMM is first presented in which class probabilities depend on some observed explanatory variables and data missingness depends on both the explanatory variables and a latent class variable. A full Bayesian method is then proposed to estimate the model. Through the data augmentation method, conditional posterior distributions for all model parameters and missing data are obtained. A Gibbs sampling procedure is then used to generate Markov chains of model parameters for statistical inference. The application of the model and the method is first demonstrated through the analysis of mathematical ability growth data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 1997). A simulation study considering 3 main factors (the sample size, the class probability, and the missing data mechanism) is then conducted and the results show that the proposed Bayesian estimation approach performs very well under the studied conditions. Finally, some implications of this study, including the misspecified missingness mechanism, the sample size, the sensitivity of the model, the number of latent classes, the model comparison, and the future directions of the approach, are discussed. (Contains 5 tables, 3 figures, and 8 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Bayesian Statistics, Statistical Inference, Computation, Models, Sampling, Markov Processes, Nonverbal Ability, Mathematics, Data Analysis, Longitudinal Studies
Psychology Press. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A