What are the causes of multicollinearity?
Matthew Cannon
Updated on January 20, 2026
Reasons for Multicollinearity – An Analysis
- Inaccurate use of different types of variables.
- Poor selection of questions or null hypothesis.
- The selection of a dependent variable.
- Variable repetition in a linear regression model.
What problems do multicollinearity cause?
Multicollinearity reduces the precision of the estimated coefficients, which weakens the statistical power of your regression model. You might not be able to trust the p-values to identify independent variables that are statistically significant.What is multicollinearity example?
Multicollinearity refers to the statistical phenomenon where two or more independent variables are strongly correlated. It marks the almost perfect or exact relationship between the predictors. This strong correlation between the exploratory variables is one of the major problems in linear regression analysis.How can we prevent multicollinearity?
Try one of these:
- Remove highly correlated predictors from the model. If you have two or more factors with a high VIF, remove one from the model. ...
- Use Partial Least Squares Regression (PLS) or Principal Components Analysis, regression methods that cut the number of predictors to a smaller set of uncorrelated components.
What are the indicators of multicollinearity?
High Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) and Low ToleranceSo either a high VIF or a low tolerance is indicative of multicollinearity. VIF is a direct measure of how much the variance of the coefficient (ie. its standard error) is being inflated due to multicollinearity.