We examine recommendations for three key features of latent growth curve models in the structural equation modeling framework. As a basis for the discussion, we review current practice in the social and behavioral sciences literature as found in 441 reports published in the 19 months beginning in January 2019 and compare our findings to extant…

Researchers in behavioral sciences are often interested in longitudinal behavior change outcomes and the mechanisms that influence changes in these outcomes over time. The statistical models that are typically implemented to address these research questions do not allow for investigation of mechanisms of dynamic change over time. However, latent…