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<!DOCTYPE pkgmetadata SYSTEM "http://www.gentoo.org/dtd/metadata.dtd">
<pkgmetadata>
	<longdescription>
		Three-Step Estimation for Latent Class Analysis // Implements BCH
		(Bolck-Croon-Hagenaars) doi:10.1093/pan/mph001 and ML
		(Vermunt's maximum likelihood) doi:10.1093/pan/mpq025
		approaches for three-step estimation of latent class models
		with covariates and distal outcomes, following Bakk, Tekle
		Vermunt (2013) doi:10.1177/0081175012470644, Bakk, Oberski
		Vermunt (2014) https://www.jstor.org/stable/24573086, and Bakk
		Kuha (2018) doi:10.1007/s11336-017-9592-7. Built on
		'multilevLCA' (Lyrvall et al., 2025)
		doi:10.1080/00273171.2025.2473935 for Step-1 measurement model
		estimation, this package extends it with support for Gaussian,
		Poisson, and binomial distal outcome families. Unlike 'poLCA',
		which relies on one-step estimation and cannot accommodate a
		measurement model from a different sample, this package uses a
		stepwise approach to prevent the structural model from
		influencing latent class formation. Implements correct sandwich
		variance estimation that propagates measurement uncertainty
		from the first-step through classification-error correction in
		the final step (Bakk, Oberski  Vermunt, 2014). Supports
		polytomous items and missing data in the measurement model with
		full information maximum likelihood. A data-generating process
		replicating the Bakk  Kuha (2018) simulation study is included.
	</longdescription>
</pkgmetadata>
