title: The benefits of using semi-continuous and continuous models to analyze binge eating data: A Monte Carlo investigation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Change in binge eating is typically a primary outcome for interventions targeting individuals with eating pathology. A range of statistical models exist to handle these types of frequency distributions, but little empirical evidence exists to guide the appropriate choice of statistical model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Monte Carlo simulations were used to investigate the utility of semi-continuous models relative to continuous models in various situations relevant to binge eating treatment studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Semi-continuous models yielded more accurate estimates of the population, while continuous models were higher powered when higher levels of missing data were present.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present findings generally support the use of semi-continuous models applied to binge eating data, with total sample sizes of roughly 200 being adequately powered to detect moderate treatment effects. However, models with a significant amount of missing data yielded more favorable power estimates for continuous models.
authors.affiliation: Eating and Weight Disorders Program, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grotzinger
authors.affiliation: Eating and Weight Disorders Program, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hildebrandt
authors.affiliation: Eating and Weight Disorders Program, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine, New York, New York.|Department of Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D015982:Bias; D056912:Binge-Eating Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D018401:Sample Size
keywords: binge eating; semi-continuous; simulation