Yes, it's causative in the same sense that the formation of our solar system eventually caused me to write this reply. And I agree that it's typically most eff

Yes, it's causative in the same sense that the formation of our solar system eventually caused me to write this reply. And I agree that it's typically most efficient to address root causes, but there's a sleight of hand going on here. Note how your post correctly pointed out that environment influences a person's actions where I said poor impulse control causes poor outcomes. There are causal factors in both cases, but clearly there is a clear and direct causal link in the latter and a diffuse set of uncertain possible causes in the former. I would not call environment a root cause in this case unless you can actually narrow down the specific source that causes poor impulse control (some of it is genetic and thus ineliminable).