Displaying Latent Classes in Figures: Consideration of Practices

While latent class analysis (LCA) has gained popularity in social sciences, including psychology, the visualization of latent classes has been the subject of limited discussions. This article reviews the elements of LCA figures, covering issues such as graph type, axis labels, and subgroup naming. Bar charts and line graphs have been identified as two major visualization approaches in LCA studies. It is concluded that LCA figures serve as an important visual vehicle to display subgroup characteristics. However, the elements of LCA figures need careful consideration as they could furnish the text with additional information. A checklist is summarized for LCA figure preparation.