while correlation does not imply causation, it is usually a necessary condition. so, outside of ridiculous examples, you start by noticing correlation, and then you explore a possibility of causation. And a possibility that Hashem is sending you a message here.
So, don’t ignore correlations. Say, your kid is upset or saying something inappropriate after a class X or after seeing a friend Y, worth exploring what that teacher or friend are saying. In terms of effect of others, there was a great experiment during covid (excluding those who did not believe in it) – some of the behaviors and opinions of the kids that we thought were their personal quirk turned out to change when outside of their social environment.