A hypothesis states, "Adolescents in divorced families experience more depressive episodes than those in intact families." In this hypothesis, the independent and dependent variables are ________, respectively.

A) adolescents and depressive episodes
B) depressive episodes and family situation
C) family situation and depressive episodes
D) adolescents and family situation

The independent variable is the variable being manipulated or changed in the study, in this case, it is family situation (divorced vs intact). The dependent variable is the variable being measured or tested, in this case, it is depressive episodes experienced by adolescents. Therefore, the best choice is C where family situation is the independent variable and depressive episodes are the dependent variable.