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On the practice of dichotomization of quantitative variables.

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MacCallum, Robert C., Zhang, Shaobo, Preacher, Kristopher J., Rucker, Derek D.·2002·Psychological Methods

DOI 10.1037/1082-989x.7.1.19

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Abstract

The authors examine the practice of dichotomization of quantitative measures, wherein relationships among variables are examined after 1 or more variables have been converted to dichotomous variables by splitting the sample at some point on the scale(s) of measurement. A common form of dichotomization is the median split, where the independent variable is split at the median to form high and low groups, which are then compared with respect to their means on the dependent variable. The consequences of dichotomization for measurement and statistical analyses are illustrated and discussed. The use of dichotomization in practice is described, and justifications that are offered for such usage are examined. The authors present the case that dichotomization is rarely defensible and often will yield misleading results.

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Rey, G. D., & Fischer, A. (2012) · Instructional Science · doi:10.1007/s11251-012-9237-2 · Cited by 42
“…or extreme group) dichotomization leads to numerous methodological problems well known in statistical literature (e.g., Bissonnette et al. 1990; Cohen 1983; Humphreys and Fleishman 1974; Hunter and Schmidt 1990; MacCallum et al. 2002; Maxwell and Delaney 1993; Sedney 1981; Vargha et al. 1996).”
Background
Integration of literacy into speech-language therapy: A descriptive analysis of treatment practices
Tambyraja, S. R., Schmitt, M. B., Justice, L. M., Logan, J. A. R., & Schwarz, S. (2014) · Journal of Communication Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jcomdis.2014.01.004 · Cited by 36
Negative emotionality, activity, and sociability temperaments predicting long-term job strain and effort–reward imbalance: A 15-year prospective follow-up study
Hintsanen, M., Hintsa, T., Widell, A., Mika Kivimaki, B., Raitakari, O. T., & Keltikangas‐Järvinen, L. (2011) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2011.02.012 · Cited by 37
Childhood happiness and violence: a retrospective study of their impacts on adult well-being
Bellis, M. A., Hughes, K. E., Jones, A. C., Perkins, C., & McHale, P. (2013) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003427 · Cited by 39
“Our categorisation process was not arbitrary but used a consistent measure of greater than one SD from the sample mean.(47)”
Method
Childhood Psychosocial Cumulative Risks and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Adulthood
Hakulinen, C. A., Pulkki-Råbäck, L., Elovainio, M. J., Kubzansky, L. D., Jokela, M. M., Hintsanen, M., Juonala, M., Mika Kivimaki, B., Josefsson, K., Hutri‐Kähönen, N., et al. (2015) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0000000000000246 · Cited by 39
“It has been shown that dichotomizing continuous variables reduces information, and thus, it is not often recommended (58).”
Background
Calcular e apresentar tamanhos do efeito em trabalhos científicos (2): Guia para reportar a força das relações
Santo, H., & Daniel, F. (2017) · Revista Portuguesa de Investigação Comportamental e Social · doi:10.7342/ismt.rpics.2017.3.1.48 · Cited by 43
Acute Clinical Predictors of Symptom Recovery in Emergency Department Patients with Uncomplicated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury or Non-Traumatic Brain Injuries
Nelson, L. D., Furger, R., Ranson, J., Tarima, S., Hammeke, T., Randolph, C., Barr, W., Guskiewicz, K., Olsen, C., Lerner, E., et al. (2017) · Journal of Neurotrauma · doi:10.1089/neu.2017.4988 · Cited by 31
“Although dichotomizing the outcome variable was expected to reduce statistical power, 61,62 this approach was considered advantageous, because logistic regression introduces less restrictive model assumptions than Cox regression.”
The effect of continuous auditing and role duality on the incidence and likelihood of reporting management opportunism
Barr-Pulliam, D. D. (2018) · Management Accounting Research · doi:10.1016/j.mar.2018.10.001 · Cited by 36
Geocoding child sexual abuse: An explorative analysis on journey to crime and to victimization from French police data.
Chopin, J., & Caneppele, S. (2019) · International Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.03.001 · Cited by 36
Inter‐ and intra‐individual coupling between pupillary, electrophysiological, and behavioral responses in a visual oddball task
LoTemplio, S. B., Silcox, J. W., Federmeier, K. D., & Payne, B. R. (2020) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.13758 · Cited by 36
Internal and external motivation to respond without prejudice: a person-centered approach
Bamberg, K. L., & Verkuyten, M. (2021) · The Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/00224545.2021.1917498 · Cited by 36
“However, these methods might lead to a considerable loss of information and, in some cases, even to spurious effects (MacCallum et al., 2002).”
Background
Offsetting behavioral costs with personal attitudes: A slightly more complex view of the attitude-behavior relation
Kaiser, F. G., Kibbe, A., & Hentschke, L. (2021) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.111158 · Cited by 37
The potential of immersive virtual reality for representations in design education
Horvat, N., Martinec, T., Lukačević, F., Perišić, M. M., & Škec, S. (2022) · Virtual Reality · doi:10.1007/s10055-022-00630-w · Cited by 39
“The mean split has been used since it has a lower effect on the measurement reliability (MacCallum et al. 2002).”
Method
When do students ask why? Examining the precursors and outcomes of causal search among first-year college students
Stupnisky, R. H., Stewart, T. L., Daniels, L. M., et al. (2010) · Contemporary Educational Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.06.004 · Cited by 36
An investigation of cognitive test performance across conditions of silence, background noise and music as a function of neuroticism
Reynolds, J., McClelland, A., & Furnham, A. F. (2013) · Anxiety Stress & Coping · doi:10.1080/10615806.2013.864388 · Cited by 36
A match made in the laboratory: Persuasion and matches to primed traits and stereotypes
Wheeler, S. C., DeMarree, K. G., & Petty, R. E. (2008) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2008.03.007 · Cited by 36
Factors associated with family violence by persons with psychiatric disorders
Labrum, T., & Solomon, P. (2016) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2016.07.026 · Cited by 36
“As is common (MacCallum et al., 2002), continuous and ordinal independent variables were dichotomized at the median.”
Background
The effect of background music and noise on the cognitive test performance of Chinese introverts and extraverts
Kou, S., McClelland, A., & Furnham, A. F. (2017) · Psychology of Music · doi:10.1177/0305735617704300 · Cited by 36
Selective memory biases in individuals’ memory for health-related information and behavior recommendations
Kiviniemi, M. T., & Rothman, A. J. (2006) · Psychology and Health · doi:10.1080/14768320500098715 · Cited by 36
“However, several recent authors have made strong arguments against dichotomizing continuous variables (eg, MacCallum, Zhang, Preacher & Rucker, 2002 ).”
Background
Validity of Virtual Reality Body Exposure to Elicit Fear of Gaining Weight, Body Anxiety and Body-Related Attentional Bias in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa
Porras-Garcia, B., Ferrer-Garcia, M., Serrano-Troncoso, E., Carulla-Roig, M., Soto-Usera, P., Miquel-Nabau, H., Shojaeian, N., de la Montaña Santos-Carrasco, I., Borszewski, B., Díaz-Marsá, M., et al. (2020) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm9103210 · Cited by 35
“These could affect the statistical power and accuracy of the estimated relations and reduce the observed relations among the variables [65].”
Background
The use of symptom dimensions to investigate the longitudinal effects of life events on depressive and anxiety symptomatology
Wardenaar, K. J., van Veen, T., Giltay, E. J., Zitman, F. G., & Penninx, B. W. J. H. (2013) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2013.12.004 · Cited by 35
“Compared to DSM-categories, dimensions also have advantages: they are more homogeneous, circumvent comorbidity (Widiger and Clark, 2000), better represent continuous variations observed in real life (Goldberg, 2000) and provide more statistical power/ sensitivity to change (MacCallum et al., 2002).”
Background
Type D Personality and Health-Related Quality of Life in Vascular Surgery Patients
Bouwens, E., van Lier, F., Rouwet, E. V., Verhagen, H. J. M., Stolker, R. J., & Hoeks, S. E. (2019) · International Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12529-018-09762-3 · Cited by 35
“Furthermore, regarding the ongoing discussion about this typical dichotomous approach and the well-established statistical drawbacks of forced dichotomization [28], both the dichotomous form of type D personality and the continuous scores of NA, SI, and their interaction term NA by SI were analyzed.”
Background
Do psychosocial treatment outcomes vary by race or ethnicity? A review of meta-analyses
Cougle, J. R., & Grubaugh, A. L. (2022) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102192 · Cited by 36
Sluggish cognitive tempo and speed of performance
Wood, W. L. M., Potts, H. E., Lewandowski, L. J., & Lovett, B. J. (2017) · Journal of Attention Disorders · doi:10.1177/1087054716666322 · Cited by 33

Authors: MacCallum, R. C., Zhang, S., Preacher, K. J., & Rucker, D. D.
Affiliations: The Ohio State University (US)
ORCID: Zhang, Shaobo
Preacher, Kristopher J.
Rucker, Derek D.
Venue: Psychological Methods
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 2002
Volume: 7
Issue: 1
Pages: 19-40
ISSN: 1082-989X (ISSN-L)
1939-1463
DOI: 10.1037/1082-989x.7.1.19
OpenAlex: W2108096958
Semantic Scholar: 67646d3def337c40bbfa2476f0f1ff785ae18242
Cited by: 3,538
References: 42
Citations by year: 2026: 282 · 2025: 170 · 2024: 149 · 2023: 134 · 2022: 183 · 2021: 211 · 2020: 204 · 2019: 179 · 2018: 180 · 2017: 223 · 2016: 208 · 2015: 208 · 2014: 184 · 2013: 187 · 2012: 138
FWCI: 55.97
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
kuscholarworks.ku.edu
Licence: other-oa
Locations: Psychological Methods (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
KU ScholarWorks (The University of Kansas) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics: Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods and Applications
Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods and Bayesian Inference
Keywords: dichotomization, quantitative variables, statistical analysis, change of variables, measurement error
MeSH terms: Humans, Models, Psychological, Psychology

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On the practice of dichotomization of quantitative variables.

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