the results of a study published in archives of general psychiatry stated that male children born to women who

Question

smoke during pregnancy run a risk of violent and criminal behavior that lasts into adulthood. the results of this study were challenged by some people in the media. give several reasons why the results of this would be challenged. Please help have some results but want to know what u think. thanks

Answer 1

Could there be other factors which lead both to a propensity to be a smoker AND to a propensity towards violent and/or criminal behavior, i.e., single parenthood, lower socio-economic status, etc.? It could be that living in an environment that did not offer much by way of support systems increases stress levels, which would in turn increase the likelihood to smoke, and for a child raised in such an environment to be more prone to act violently. It DOES NOT mean that "smoking moms cause violent children." Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Archives General Psychiatry

Answer 3

The results of a study can be contested for many reasons including:

Study design: did they collect the necessary data, was the data collected in an appropriate manner, how were subjects chosen for the study, how many subjects were chosen, how many hospitals were included, how diverse were they with respect to geography and other factors?

Handling of results: were appropriate methods used to analyze and interpret results, were representatives from respective fields included in the work (that is, did you have a statistician consult on the statistical methods used?).

Presentation of results: were statements of causal correlation made without sufficient evidence, were data provided to accurately back up claims made, were possible problems with the study and interpretation addressed?

The simplest reason for someone from 'the media' objecting to the results of the study is personal bias, they simply dont agree with what is stated. Though another, and probably more prevalent reason is due to simple ignorance. The average person reporting on the news isn't educated in the fields about which they are speaking and are rarely qualified to make commentary.

Answer 4

There could be so many OTHER variables in what caused male children to be violent that I would question the validity of such a study and its claims. The study would need to account for ALL variables to be valid. They could, however, raise this as a potential cause.