Logistic Regression

Logistic regression has probably been underutilized in clinical investigations of personality because of its relatively recent development (dictated by the need for computer programs to obtain maximum likelihood estimates), and the fact that use has been largely confined to the fields of biostatistics, epidemiology, and economics. Its use should be given serious consideration when the outcome of interest is dichotomous (or polychotomous) in nature and the predictors of interest may be categorical or continuous. The logit transformation is quite tractable mathematically, and it embodies the notion of threshold, which may have relevance for many of the variables that are of interest to investigators in the field of personality. Furthermore, investigators with experience in multiple linear regression or contingency table analysis should have little trouble in transitioning to logistic regression. Logistic regression programs are readily available in the major statistical packages, all of which provide fairly standard output.