Printed in Great Britain Regression to the mean for nonnormal populations

Regression to the mean is the term used to describe the effect by which individuals selected on the basis of an initial measurement which is particularly high or low compared with other members of the population have, upon remeasurement, values nearer to the population mean. For the normal distribution simple expressions for estimates of the magnitude of this effect are available. Many biological variables, however, are not normally distributed. Estimates for regression to the mean for nonnormal data are given based on Edgeworth series and saddlepoint approximations. Some key words: Edgeworth series; Regression to the mean; Saddlepoint approximation. 1