In fact, the task force was forced to grudgingly admit in its own report that “the associations between self-esteem and its expected consequences are mixed, insignificant, or absent” and that there was no relationship “between self-esteem and teenage pregnancy, self-esteem and child abuse, self-esteem and most cases of alcohol and drug abuse.” Yet in a statement of stunning disregard for the scientific method, Vasconcellos disavowed the task force’s findings, saying “we all know in our gut that it is true.”
