Publications
Research Articles and Scholarly Work
Research Publications
My publications focus on quantitative methodology, mixture modeling, and the statistical analysis of complex developmental and educational data. Much of my work examines how latent variable models—particularly mixture and longitudinal models—are implemented in applied research and how modeling decisions influence statistical inference.
Through methodological studies, simulation research, and applied collaborations, this work seeks to improve the rigor, transparency, and interpretability of statistical modeling in the behavioral and social sciences.
Featured Article
Distal outcomes in mixture modeling: A guide for pairwise comparisons, multiplicity control, and effect size reporting
Carter, D. B. (2026). Distal outcomes in mixture modeling: A guide for pairwise comparisons, multiplicity control, and effect size reporting. Behavior Research Methods, 58(9).
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Carter, D. B. (2026). Distal outcomes in mixture modeling: A guide for pairwise comparisons, multiplicity control, and effect size reporting. Behavior Research Methods, 58(9). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-026-03144-4
Carter, D. B., Plunkett, S. W., Alpizar, D., Ainsworth, A. T., & Laganá, L. (2026). Psychometric evaluation of the 8-item patient health questionnaire among Filipino American emerging adult men and women. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 48(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-026-10305-4
Nylund-Gibson, K., Arch, D. A., & Carter, D. (2026). Latent transition analysis with auxiliary variables: A demonstration of the ML 3-Step and BCH in Mplus. The Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 22(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.20982/tqmp.22.1.p001
Olwert, M. R., Hart, S. R., Carter, D., & Stromberg, N. R. (2026). A latent profile analysis of body image and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in adolescent boys. Journal of Adolescence, 98(6), 2142–2149. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.70185
Romero, L. S., O’Malley, M., & Carter, D. (2025). Replication using confirmatory latent class analysis: A school climate example. Journal of School Psychology, 110, 101455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2025.101455
Lawrie, I. L., Carter, D., Nylund-Gibson, K., & Kim, H. S. (2025). A tale of two belongings: Social and academic belonging differentially shape academic and psychological outcomes among university students. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1394588
Moore, S. A., Carter, D., Kim, E. K., Furlong, M. J., Nylund-Gibson, K., & Dowdy, E. (2024). Adolescents’ covitality patterns: Relations with student demographic characteristics and proximal academic and mental health outcomes. School Mental Health, 16, 550–565. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-024-09663-9
Nylund-Gibson, K., Garber, A. C., Carter, D. B., Chan, M., Arch, D. A., Simon, O., Whaling, K., Tartt, E., & Lawrie, S. I. (2023). Ten frequently asked questions about latent transition analysis. Psychological Methods, 28(2), 284–300. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000486
Dowdy, E., Furlong, M. J., Nylund-Gibson, K., Arch, D., Hinton, T., & Carter, D. (2023). Validating a brief student distress measure for schoolwide wellness surveillance. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 48(3), 159–169. https://doi.org/10.1177/15345084221138947
Denson, N., Ing, M., Arch, D. A., Garber, A. C., Chan, M., Carter, D. B., & Nylund-Gibson, K. (2022). A latent class analysis of students’ openness to learning from diverse others. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 17(5), 806–816. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000451
Furlong, M. J., Paz, J. L., Carter, D., Dowdy, E., & Nylund-Gibson, K. (2022). Extending validation of a social emotional health measure for middle school students. Contemporary School Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-022-00411-x
Wagle, R., Dowdy, E., Nylund-Gibson, K., Sharkey, J. D., Carter, D., & Furlong, M. J. (2021). School belonging constellations considering complete mental health in primary schools. Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 38(2), 173–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/20590776.2021.1964071
Furlong, M. J., Dowdy, E., Nylund-Gibson, K., Wagle, R., Carter, D., & Hinton, T. (2020). Enhancement and standardization of a universal social-emotional health measure for students’ psychological strengths. Journal of Well-Being Assessment, 4(3), 245–267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41543-020-00032-2
Hinton, T., Dowdy, E., Furlong, M. J., Nylund-Gibson, K., Carter, D., & Wagle, R. (2020). Examining the social emotional health survey-secondary for use with Latinx youth. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 39(2), 242–246. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282920953236
Wagle, R., Dowdy, E., Furlong, M. J., Nylund-Gibson, K., Carter, D., & Hinton, T. (2020). Anonymous versus self-identified response formats for school mental health screening. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 47(2), 112–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534508420959439
Laganá, L., Gavrilova, L., Carter, D. B., & Ainsworth, A. T. (2017). A randomized controlled study on the effects of a documentary on students’ empathy and attitudes towards older adults. Psychology and Cognitive Sciences – Open Journal, 3(3), 79–88. https://doi.org/10.17140/pcsoj-3-127
Plunkett, S. W., White, X., Carter, D. B., & Horner, M. E. F. (2016). Parental support and psychological control in relation to African American college students’ self-esteem. Journal of Africana Studies, 9(4), 199–218.
Research in Progress
Research in Progress
Manuscripts Under Review
Carter, D. B. (under review). Relational calibration: A framework for dynamic instructional regulation in complex learning environments. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction.
Manuscripts in Preparation
Carter, D. B. (in preparation). When is RI-LTA necessary? A Monte Carlo comparison of latent transition models.
Carter, D. B. (in preparation). Residual-based variance decomposition for continuous outcomes in mixture models.
Carter, D. B. (in preparation). The simulation evidence base for latent transition analysis: What do we know and what remains unknown?
Carter, D. B. (in preparation). Item sequence × response layout: Measurement invariance and latent mean differences across four paper survey forms.
Ongoing Research Programs
Latent Transition Analysis Reporting and Design Audit. A large-scale methodological review examining how latent transition analysis is designed, evaluated, extended, and reported in applied research. Current analyses examine model-fit evaluation, measurement invariance, enumeration strategies, covariates and distal outcomes, design complexity, and reporting transparency.
Research Monographs
Research Monographs & Reports
Carter, D. B., Sharkey, J., & Doty, S. (2018, December). Moral reconation therapy engagement study: Client and counselor perspectives. University of California, Santa Barbara.
Carter, D. B., Hunnicut, K., & Sharkey, J. (2018, November). Santa Barbara County annual report: Public safety realignment October 2011–December 2017. University of California, Santa Barbara.
Carter, D. B., & Sharkey, J. (2018, August). Substance abuse treatment court outcome evaluation. University of California, Santa Barbara.
Hunnicut, K., Carter, D. B., Sharkey, J., & Cosden, M. (2018, March). Santa Barbara County annual report: Public safety realignment October 2011–December 2016. University of California, Santa Barbara.
Presentations
Selected Conference Presentations
Carter, D. (2026, April). When is RI-LTA necessary? A Monte Carlo comparison of latent transition models. Symposium presentation at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Carter, D., & Nylund-Gibson, K. (2023, April). Understanding the performance of random intercept latent transition analysis under varied conditions and competing models. Symposium talk presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL, USA.
Carter, D., Nylund-Gibson, K., Furlong, M. J., & Dowdy, E. (2022, April). Random intercept latent transition analysis: An illustration, comparison, and simulation. Symposium presentation at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA, USA.
Carter, D., & Nylund-Gibson, K. (2021, April). Validation and calibration in mixture modeling: The exploratory factor analysis/confirmatory factor analysis of mixture models. Symposium presentation at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Online Format.
Carter, D., Garber, A., Nylund-Gibson, K., Dowdy, E., & Furlong, M. J. (2021, April). Understanding patterns of social-emotional strengths across students with and without disabilities: Different, not worse. Symposium presentation at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Online Format.
Carter, D., & Nylund-Gibson, K. (2019, April). Mixture models: Calculate the explained variance in distal outcomes from the categorical latent variable. Symposium presentation at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Toronto, ON, Canada.