An Educational Researcher Conducted Interviews with Freshmen Who Were Considered

An educational researcher conducted interviews with freshmen who were considered "at risk" for dropping out of high school. The researcher monitored these students for the next 3 years. The researcher discovered that students with low self-esteem were more likely to drop out of high school than students with high self-esteem. Which of the following conclusions is most strongly supported by this observation?

A) Students drop out of school because they have low self-esteem.
B) A student who performs poorly will tend to have low self-esteem.
C) Dropping out of school causes students to have low self-esteem.
D) The tendency to drop out of school is correlated with self-esteem.