What is a causally prior variable Please give an example in

What is a causally prior variable? Please give an example in criminal justice. Thanks.

Solution

A causally prior variable is basically a confounding variable.

i.e. it is an extraneous variable in statistical model that correlates (either positive or negative) with both the dependent and independent variables.

Thus this confounding variable causes prior variance in the independent variable

Or chronologically ordered this comes first with more priority.

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