Associations and Cause and Effect

The term association means that two or more things are related or connected to one another like height and weight, cholesterol level and heart failure or exercise and weight loss. Associations can be positive or negative. Positive associations suggest that when one variable is increased, the value of another variable increases (e.g., as height increases, so does weight; as cholesterol level increases, so does the risk of heart failure). Negative associations mean that when a variable is increased, the value of another variable decreases (e.g., exercise is introduced (or increased) and weight decreases). Associations can be found in experimental or descriptive studies. Finding significant associations, either during descriptive or experimental studies, may lead to the development of programs or treatments to remedy a particular problem.

Case example of associations                                                

                               

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