Classification of non-parametric regression functions in longitudinal data models

Abstract

We investigate a longitudinal data model with non-parametric regression functions that may vary across the observed individuals. In a variety of applications, it is natural to impose a group structure on the regression curves. Specifically, we may suppose that the observed individuals can be grouped into a number of classes whose members all share the same regression function. We develop a statistical procedure to estimate the unknown group structure from the data. Moreover, we derive the asymptotic properties of the procedure and investigate its finite sample performance by means of a simulation study and a real data example.