The general model framework permits fitting models with a specific factor structure that relates the observed items or symptoms to the underlying disorder within each of the different latent classes. It is also possible to constrain the number of classes to 1, resulting in a factor model for a single homogeneous population. This would correspond to a dimensional disorder. Alternatively, all covariances within a class can be constrained to be zero, resulting in the latent class model. Most importantly, specifying a factor model within each class permits severity differences within class, and therefore represents a hybrid between taxonicity and dimensionality.
