This entry describes a form of factor analysis that uses measures of the same individuals collected in different moments of time. Factor analysis is a technique used to analyze the association between different observed variables to reduce them to a smaller number of unobserved factors. The term longitudinal factor analysis is a more general term, and growth curve modeling describes a specific form of longitudinal factor analysis, by far the most often used form of this type of analysis. Growth curve modeling can also be conceptualized as a specific form of multilevel modeling in which repeated measures of the same individuals (Level 1) are nested within individuals (Level 2).

The key characteristic of longitudinal factor analysis is the use of repeated measures of the same individuals ...