Table 3.
Comparison of Diagnostically- and Empirically-Driven Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and Other Best-Fitting Models in a Subsample Whose Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Diagnoses Were Available
| Model fit index values | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Models | k | LL | BIC | ||||
| ELCA | 25 | −9929.562 | 20046.830 | ||||
| CLCA | 25 | −12014.234 | 24216.173 | ||||
| EFMAa | 71 | −9344.797 | 19222.680 | ||||
| LCFAb | 45 | −9449.843 | 19237.560 | ||||
| LCFAc | 27 | −12014.230 | 24231.190 | ||||
| CFAd | 28 | −9446.573 | 19103.376 | ||||
| Items | LCA item endorsement probabilities |
CFAd factor loadings |
|||||
| ELCA | CLCA | ||||||
| High ASD | Low ASD | ASD | Non-ASD | SI | COM | RRB | |
| (44.71) | (55.29) | (46.96) | (53.04) | ||||
| Relates to others in an unusual way | .652 | .067 | .528 | .149 | .831 | − | - |
| Difficulty playing with and relating to other children | .783 | .089 | .633 | .188 | .941 | - | - |
| Lack of interest in making friends | .447 | .039 | .371 | .087 | .810 | - | - |
| Lacks interest in or awareness of other people’s feelings | .447 | .065 | .349 | .133 | .737 | - | - |
| Language difficulties | .516 | .055 | .404 | .131 | - | .844 | - |
| Difficulty engaging in socially appropriate conversation | .850 | .101 | .696 | .202 | .403 | .551 | - |
| Speaks in an odd way | .411 | .019 | .331 | .070 | - | .873 | - |
| Difficulty engaging in make-believe play | .305 | .008 | .245 | .047 | - | .802 | - |
| Is preoccupied with certain topics | .647 | .110 | .561 | .160 | - | - | .792 |
| Distressed by small changes in routine or environment | .541 | .139 | .462 | .189 | - | - | .633 |
| Engages in odd repetitive movements | .421 | .060 | .368 | .089 | - | - | .756 |
| Has intense interest in parts of objects | .291 | .016 | .254 | .036 | - | - | .816 |
Note: Numbers in parentheses under the LCA item endorsement probabilities section represent the percentage of individuals assigned to a given ASD symptom class. BIC = Bayesian information criteria; CFA = confirmatory factor analysis; CLCA = confirmatory latent class analysis; COM = communication factor; ELCA = exploratory latent class analysis; k = number of parameters; LL = log-likelihood; RRB = restricted repetitive behavior factor. SI = social interaction factor.
Model subscripts:
The 2-class/2-factor model
The 6-class/3-factor model
The DSM-5-based 2-class/2-factor model
CFA with cross-loading of item “difficulty engaging in socially appropriate conversation”.