Dr. Kellogg is gathering data on inmates at the state penitentiary and has qualified over 90 percent of her sample as being in poverty prior to their arrest and conviction. She has quickly concluded that "poverty causes crime." Another research assistant using the same sample has noted that at least 80 percent of the sample had a serious drug or alcohol problem. Based on Dr. Kellogg's conclusion that "poverty causes crime," what role does drug and alcohol use play in the proposition?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The presence of an intervening variable (in this case, drug and alcohol use) means that the relationship between poverty and crime is more complicated and cannot be simply reduced to a one-way causal relationship. Therefore, the role of drug and alcohol use is important to consider and can be classified as an intervening variable.

Dr Kellogg Is Gathering Data on Inmates at the State