Vincente is conducting research to test the hypothesis that the social contagion effect is weak in adults. His finding that adults who have a close friend or relative that abstains from drinking alcohol are more likely to abstain themselves will support this hypothesis.

Indicate whether the statement is true or false

Answer

In this case, the given statement would be false.

Explanation:

As it has been mentioned in the question, the researcher is examining the extent of social contagion among adults. As stated by the hypothesis of the researcher, the impact or effect of social contagion is weak among adults implying that the adult section of the population doesn't get much influenced by the surrounding people or their social circle. However, the finding indicates that adults who are close to non-alcoholics will likely to be the same as well, which essentially contradicts the initial hypothesis of the researcher. As the initial hypothesis of the researcher basically implies that adults are less likely to be influenced or impacted by their social surroundings, the given finding basically contradicts or disputes the hypothesis as in this case, the observed sample of adult people is likely to behave in the same way or manner as their social peers.