ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a variety of matching procedures in order to facilitate the selection of appropriate comparison groups for use in Sex chromosome abnormalities (SCA) research. The topic of structural equation modeling is introduced because of its potential utility for devising and testing hypotheses regarding multivariate patterns of causal factors that no doubt influence the development of SCA individuals. The chapter examines selected methodological problems encountered by SCA researchers, provides a critical appraisal of putative solutions, and examines the applicability to SCA research of methodological advances culled from related fields of study. The SCA investigator encounters particularly complex problems associated with the choice of appropriate control groups, along with a host of other potential methodological pitfalls inherited from psychological allied domains. In order to be able to validly attribute any behavioral differences between SCA and comparison groups to biologically-based differences, investigators must make judicious decisions regarding the nature of the matching procedures they choose to employ.
