getsub.LGCM_m: Define Latent Growth Curve Models as Class-specific Models (Submodels) for a Longitudinal Multiple Group Model

Description

This function defines latent growth curve models as class-specific models (submodels) for a longitudinal multiple group model.

Usage

getsub.LGCM_m(
  dat,
  nClass,
  grp_var,
  t_var,
  y_var,
  curveFun,
  intrinsic,
  records,
  growth_TIC,
  starts
)

Value

A list of manifest and latent variables and paths for an mxModel object.

Arguments

dat: A wide-format data frame, with each row corresponding to a unique ID. It contains the observed variables with repeated measurements and occasions for each longitudinal process, and time-invariant covariates (TICs) if any. It takes the value passed from getMGroup().
nClass: An integer specifying the number of manifested classes for the multiple group model. It takes the value passed from getMGroup().
grp_var: A string specifying the column that indicates manifested classes. It takes the value passed from getMGroup().
t_var: A string specifying the prefix of the column names corresponding to the time variable at each study wave. It takes the value passed from getMGroup().
y_var: A string specifying the prefix of the column names corresponding to the outcome variable at each study wave. It takes the value passed from getMGroup().
curveFun: A string specifying the functional form of the growth curve. Supported options for latent growth curve models are: "linear" (or "LIN"), "quadratic" (or "QUAD"), "negative exponential" (or "EXP"), "Jenss-Bayley" (or "JB"), and "bilinear spline" (or "BLS"). It takes the value passed from getMGroup().
intrinsic: A logical flag indicating whether to build an intrinsically nonlinear longitudinal model. It takes the value passed from getMGroup().
records: A numeric vector specifying indices of the study waves. It takes the value passed from getMGroup().
growth_TIC: A string or character vector specifying the column name(s) of time-invariant covariate(s) contributing to the variability of growth factors if any. It takes the value passed from getMGroup().
starts: A list of initial values for the parameters, either takes the value passed from getMGroup() or derived by the helper function getMGroup.initial().