“Correlation
does not imply causation.” This maxim is repeated in high school science
classrooms to ensure data is not misinterpreted and faulty causal inferences
are not made. Of course, an article headline can often mislead readers to infer
such connections. Science Daily
recently reported a study, Dating in Middle School Leads to Higher Dropout,
Drug-Use Rates, insinuating a causal link between adolescent dating and
dropout/drug-use rates.
According to the authors, “students who date in middle school have significantly worse study skills, are four times more likely to drop out of school and report twice as much alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use than their single classmates, according to new research from the University of Georgia.” In other words, dating in middle school will inevitably lead to maladaptive behaviors.
I can almost visualize a parent reading this headline and then subsequently demand that their child break up with his or her partner to avoid an academic and behavioral catastrophe.
It is only embedded deep within the article that the authors of the study highlight that the below average educational performance of middle school daters is part of an “overall pattern of high-risk behaviors.” I like to think of this quote as the chicken or the egg scenario - which came first?: Does teen dating lead to high-risk behaviors or does high-risk behaviors lead to teen dating?
According to the authors, “students who date in middle school have significantly worse study skills, are four times more likely to drop out of school and report twice as much alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use than their single classmates, according to new research from the University of Georgia.” In other words, dating in middle school will inevitably lead to maladaptive behaviors.
I can almost visualize a parent reading this headline and then subsequently demand that their child break up with his or her partner to avoid an academic and behavioral catastrophe.
It is only embedded deep within the article that the authors of the study highlight that the below average educational performance of middle school daters is part of an “overall pattern of high-risk behaviors.” I like to think of this quote as the chicken or the egg scenario - which came first?: Does teen dating lead to high-risk behaviors or does high-risk behaviors lead to teen dating?
Stated differently, maybe middle school dating is a symptom of a problem-child (and/or parenting styles), not the
cause.
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