Intoxicated statistics
How fuzzy a dose of statistics does it take to generate a clear news headline? Publicity-minded statisticians can delight in the results generated by a study published in the May 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
The study, which is credited to ten (10) authors, has already inspired a powerful HealthDay report headline, on April 27, 2006:
NYC Teens Drank More After 9/11
New research into the effects of Sept. 11, 2001, suggests that alcohol served as a refuge for some New York City teens who were directly exposed to the terrorist attacks…
Nearly 11 percent said they’d been drinking more since 9/11. The students were 1.8 times more likely to report heavier drinking if they’d been directly exposed to the attacks — if they had been in the World Trade Center area at the time, watched them closely on television or had a family member who was involved…
[Co-author Cristiane] Duarte cautioned that the drinking statistics aren’t as reliable as they could be because the researchers didn’t survey the teens before 9/11.