Extending latent class solutions to other variables

A procedure is derived for estimating the latent parameters of items not initially included in a latent class solution, on the assumption that the relations between those additional items and the original ones are accounted for by the same latent structure. A chi-square test is proposed for evaluating the relatedness of the additional items to the latent structure. The extension is generalized to associate continuous outside variables with the original solution, and this is accompanied by the suggestion that a simple analysis of variance be used to assess the results. Finally, this latent structure extension is compared with the Dwyer extension of factor analysis.I am grateful to J. J. Mellinger for clarifying discussions of the statistical portions of this paper.Opinions expressed herein are the author's, not the Army's.