Deep dive causality in real-life settings

Let's walk through a study titled Inked into Crime? An Examination of the Causal Relationship between Tattoos and Life-Course Offending among Males from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development [1]. It’s about a study to ascertain whether or not there exists a causal connection between the presence of tattoos and the propensity for criminal behavior across one’s lifespan. Analyzing data from 411 British males, the researchers utilized propensity score matching—a statistical technique frequently used to ascertain causal inference (which we shall learn about later in this book, in Chapter 6). This approach meticulously dissects the complexity between the ink on skin and the propensity for crime, offering a more refined perspective on this age-old debate.

Rooted in the shadow of 19th-century criminological thought, specifically the theories of Lombroso, tattoos have long been cast in the dim light of criminality...