Mplus Users Guide v6.. - Muthén & Muthén

CHAPTER 15THE DATA MISSING COMMANDThe DATA MISSING command is used to create a set of binaryvariables that are indicators of missing data or dropout for another set ofvariables. Dropout indicators can be scored as discrete-time survivalindicators or dropout dummy indicators. The new variables can be usedto study non-ignorable missing data (Little & Rubin, 2002; Muthén etal., 2010).The new variables must be placed on the USEVARIABLES statement ofthe VARIABLE command if they are used in the analysis. Thesevariables must come after any original variables. If the binary variablesare used as dependent variables in the analysis, they must be declared ascategorical using the CATEGORICAL option of the VARIABLEcommand.The creation of the new variables in the DATA MISSING commandoccurs after any transformations in the DEFINE command and after anytransformations using the DATA TWOPART command. Following is adescription of the options used in the DATA MISSING command.NAMESThe NAMES option identifies the set of variables that are used to createa set of binary variables that are indicators of missing data. Thesevariables must be variables from the NAMES statement of theVARIABLE command. The NAMES option is specified as follows:NAMES = drink1-drink4;where drink1, drink2, drink3, and drink4 are the set of variables forwhich a set of binary indicators of missing data are created.BINARYThe BINARY option is used to assign names to the new set of binaryvariables. The BINARY option is specified as follows:BINARY = u1-u4;472