The Chicken or the Egg: One Statistical Approach for Determining the Direction of Influence

In a previous volume of The Journal, Berge et al1 attempted a “which comes first, the chicken or the egg?” argument when it comes to parental feeding practices and young child eating behaviors. Their statistical method of choice was cross-lagged path analysis (CLPA). This is an appropriate statistical technique for this research question, as the technique allows one to examine a feedback loop across repeated measurements. I present the fundamentals of CLPA and assume an understanding of basic regression techniques.
Source: The Journal of Pediatrics - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Source Type: research