Upcoming Workshops

Longitudinal data analysis using epidemiologic cognitive data

October 10, 2024, 12-3PM ET

This is a virtual workshop. Zoom details will be shared with NIMLAS members prior to the event date. The workshop will be recorded, and the recording and related materials will be made available on our website 1-2 weeks after the workshop.

Alden Gross

Abstract: This workshop covers basic and advanced elements of longitudinal data analysis of cognitive performance among older adults. It features didactic lecture and applied laboratory-based data analysis, using publicly available data from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). Data used for this workshop are from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study (ICPSR share #38821). Basic familiarity with longitudinal data analysis is assumed, and we will use Stata and Mplus for illustrations (Stata will be used for applied lab portions). Particular topics in the workshop include a discussion of change scores; random effects modeling, multilevel modeling, latent growth curve modeling of continuous cognitive outcomes, and intersections between these methods; latent difference score modeling; and common extensions of longitudinal models in cognitive aging research. Emphasis is placed on the importance of specifying one’s question, as the scientific question drives the method.

Speaker Bio: Alden Gross is a psychiatric epidemiologist in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with substantive research interests in cognitive aging and mental health. He has specialized training in statistical methods including multilevel modeling, methods for accounting for missing data, structural equation modeling, and latent variable methods. His is MPI of the Gateway to Global Aging Data, where he oversees cognitive variable cross-national harmonization for studies with a Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol.