Researcher: The rate of psychological problems is higher among childre

Researcher: The rate of psychological problems is higher among children of divorced parents than among other children. But it would be a mistake to conclude that these problems are caused by the difficulty the children have adjusting to divorce. It is just as reasonable to infer that certain behaviors that increase the likelihood of divorce—hostility, distrust, lack of empathy—are learned by children from their parents, and that it is these learned behaviors, rather than the difficulty of adjusting to divorce, that cause the children’s psychological problems.

The assertion that children of divorced parents have a higher rate of psychological problems than other children figures in the argument in which one of the following ways?


(A) It is the conclusion of the argument.
Nope. The conclusion is the last line, I daresay, or part of it. The second sentence even gives you a hint that the first one is not a conclusion. The first sentences is basically just a fact stated plainly: 1 + 1 = 2.

(B) It is the claim that the argument tries to refute.
Nope, the argument doesn't refute the...claim? (sounds more like a finding or fact). In any event the argument doesn't take issue or attack the the validity of the first sentence.

(C) It is offered as evidence for the claim that divorce is harmful to the children of the divorcing parents.
This whole thing almost feels like an RC question. Anyway this isn't the answer. The first sentence is a finding or fact. That is it.

(D) It is offered as evidence for the claim that certain behaviors are often responsible for divorce.
Not really. A finding is presented. And later an alternative explanation is given for it.

(E) It is cited as an established finding for which the argument proposes an explanation.
Yes, the answer. It's a little tricky since it says explanation, but an alternative explanation or counter explanation is an explanation all the same.

Hope that helps.