Application of a Hierarchical Model Incorporating Intra-family Correlation and Cluster Effects

摘要

BackgroundResearch interventions at the family level often include individual- and group-level data that can present an analytic challenge. The study that motivated this paper was an intervention study conducted with elementary school children and their parents. Randomization occurred at the school level, with families nested within schools. Repeated measurements collected from children and parents at different time points presented modeling challenges, including how to specify the covariance structure correctly among all measurements.