The DOI matches its Crossref record; 39 of the 42 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
On the practice of dichotomization of quantitative variables.
Open accessAbstract
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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“However, grouping loses information and may reduce statistical power [ 87 ] especially when dichotomization is used [ 82 , 85 , 88 ].”
From Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE): Explanation and Elaboration (2007) · cites this paper as [85]
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“In another survey, of the psychological literature, dichotomization was justified in only 22 of 110 articles (20%) [ 85 ].”
From Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE): Explanation and Elaboration (2007) · cites this paper as [85]
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“However, such dichotomisation will result in an unnecessary loss of statistical power and precision if continuous alternatives are available (MacCallum et al., 2002; Royston et al., 2006).”
From Rating norms should be calculated from cumulative link mixed effects models (2022) · cites this paper as MacCallum et al., 2002
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“Artificially dichotomizing continuous measures is rarely conceptually or statistically defensible, and frequently yields misleading results (MacCallum et al., 2002).”
From Do growth mindset interventions impact students’ academic achievement? A systematic review and meta-analysis with recommendations for best practices. (2023) · cites this paper as MacCallum et al., 2002
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Citations
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Mayo, R., Alfasi, D., & Schwarz, N. (2014) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/a0035127 · Cited by 43
Low lifetime stress exposure is associated with reduced stimulus-response memory
Goldfarb, E. V., Shields, G. S., Daw, N. D., Slavich, G. M., & Phelps, E. A. (2017) · Learning & Memory · doi:10.1101/lm.045179.117 · Cited by 30
Investigating the DSM‐5 severity specifiers based on thinness for adults with anorexia nervosa
Reas, D. L., & Rø, Ø. (2017) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.22729 · Cited by 30
Silverman, W. K., Rey, Y., Marin, C. E., Jaccard, J., & Pettit, J. W. (2022) · Clinical Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/21677026211016402 · Cited by 30
“Because rating scales are scored dimensionally, they are more sensitive to change and avoid many of the pitfalls of using dichotomized continuous constructs such as diagnostic recovery (MacCallum et al., 2002).”
BackgroundKirsch, I., Huedo-Medina, T. B., Pigott, H. E., & Johnson, B. T. (2018) · Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice · doi:10.1037/cns0000164 · Cited by 24
Lake, P. W., Conley, C. C., Pal, T., Sutton, S. K., & Vadaparampil, S. T. (2022) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2021.12.020 · Cited by 23
Maisto, S. A., Hallgren, K. A., Roos, C. R., Swan, J. E., & Witkiewitz, K. (2020) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/ccp0000615 · Cited by 21
“The reliance on the dichotomization of drinking data into heavy and non-heavy drinking days is a limitation of this work (MacCallum et al., 2002; Pearson et al., 2016; Tueller et al., 2016).”
BackgroundHuman Performance in Deepfake Detection: A Systematic Review
Somoray, K., Miller, D. J., & Holmes, M. (2025) · Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies · doi:10.1155/hbe2/1833228 · Cited by 19
Uthede, S., Nilsson, I., Wagman, P., Håkansson, C., & Farias, L. (2023) · Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.1080/11038128.2022.2046154 · Cited by 17
“Age was dichotomized according to a median cut to form high and low groups (i.e. younger versus older groups), which can then be compared with respect to their means on the dependent variable [27].”
MethodHawkins, S. E., DeLuca, H. K., Claxton, S. E., & Baker, E. A. (2023) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-022-02508-z · Cited by 13
“16), the differences in the significance levels of these betas may be explained by the use of a nominal, rather than a continuous, indicator for sexual behavior, which makes it more difficult to detect effects (MacCallum et al., 2002).”
BackgroundOnie, S., Gong, S., Manwaring, E., Grageda, D., Webb, K., Yuen, W. S., & Most, S. B. (2020) · Australian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/ajpy.12272 · Cited by 12
Murphy, L. K., Rights, J. D., Ricciuto, A., Church, P. C., & Ahola Kohut, S. (2020) · Frontiers in Pediatrics · doi:10.3389/fped.2020.00559 · Cited by 11
“absence allows researchers to determine important potential factors that do predict pain presence, it removes important contextual information about the intensity of that pain (25) and distorts inferential testing in numerous ways (26).”
BackgroundMarte, M. J., Carpenter, E., Scimeca, M., Russell-Meill, M., Peñaloza, C., Grasemann, U., Miikkulainen, R., & Kiran, S. (2025) · Stroke · doi:10.1161/strokeaha.124.047867 · Cited by 9
Group awareness and self-presentation in the information-exchange dilemma: an interactional approach
Kimmerle, J., & Cress, U. (2007) · Proceedings of the 8th iternational conference on Computer supported collaborative learning - CSCL'07 · doi:10.3115/1599600.1599671 · Cited by 6
“With respect to PSP, participants were separated into two groups via a median split (cf. MacCallum, Zhang, Preacher, & Rucker, 2002).”
MethodRatcliff, C. G., Fowler, S. N., Sinclair, K. L., Prinsloo, S., Chaoul, A., Zepeda, S. G., Spelman, A., Yang, W. T., & Cohen, L. (2021) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-020-01581-6 · Cited by 5
Kane, L., & Ashbaugh, A. R. (2022) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2022.104208 · Cited by 6
Cost, K. T., Unternaehrer, E., Pruessner, J. C., Abramovich, A., Cleverley, K., szatmari, P., & Lai, M.-C. (2022) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/c29kg · Cited by 1
Rebellious yet apathetic: System justification and learned helplessness in collective action
Couto, C., & Pilati, R. (2024) · Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología · doi:10.14349/rlp.2024.v56.2 · Cited by 1
(2012) · TigerPrints (Clemson University) · Cited by 402
Metadata
- Authors
- MacCallum, R. C., Zhang, S., Preacher, K. J., & Rucker, D. D.
- Affiliations
- The Ohio State University (US)
- Venue
- Psychological Methods
- Published
- 2002
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 19-40
- ISSN
- 1082-989X (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1463
- 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
- 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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