# Defining the cause of failure in a proportional hazards models

In a proportional hazards model, if failure events can be attributed to independent causes, it may be appropriate to define the cause of failure for each observation. Defining multiple causes of failure will produce separate coefficients for each cause. It is equivalent to creating a separate model for each cause, and treating failures from other causes as censored observations.

To define the cause of failure:

1. In the Model view, ensure that Proportional Hazards is selected from the Model pop-up button
2. Click the Configure button to the right of the Model pop-up button
3. Check the box labeled Caused by and select a category column from the pop-up button

Each cause will then appear in the outcome table below the outcome variable name. Selecting a specific cause will display that cause’s coefficients in the explanatory table.

See also:

- Treating records as censored in a proportional hazards models
- Defining default outcome values in a proportional hazards models
- Stratifying a proportional hazards model by a category column
- About proportional hazards models

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