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Sociology 441: Stratification
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Family structure effects on stratification outcomes
How big an effect?
Is the family structure -> child outcome association truly causal?
Reverse causation
Associations, such as between single parenthood and lower child outcomes,
may not be a result of single parenthood causing child outcomes, but because
the direction of causation is reversed.
This may be a stretch for this example, but it is not inconceivable that
problems with difficult children put extra stress on a marriage and thus
cause disruption. So, the association may result not because:
single parenthood -> low child outcomes
but, because in part:
low child outcomes -> single parenthood.
Although we have little evidence that the opposite causal direction is a
very important source of this association, it is important to recognize
the possibility of both alternative causal interpretations
(both are results of a third cause and the causal direction is opposite).
The best social research attempts to check for both possibilities before
making a causal interpretation.
| Last updated September 18, 2002 |
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