Intraindividual variability and short-term change - Commentary

Background: Interest in the study of intraindividual variability is growing rapidly. Objective: The present collection of papers deals with both longer- term, growth and change and shorter- term intraindividual variability. Methods: The papers emphasize primarily the former within the context of analyzing large, longitudinal data sets. Also discussed are some key methodological matters. Results: Criteria to help with choosing methods and modeling with missing data are included. Conclusions: A promising direction is toward developing a more systematic and intensive conception of the meaning and significance of the wide variety of manifestations of intraindividual variability and integrating them into theories of aging. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel.