Grammar: difference between "due to" and "because of"

Test Preparation
1

<p>I've always been taught that "due to" is followed by a noun (ex: She was late when submitting her assignment due to her procrastination) and "because" is followed by a sentence (ex: He went to the grocery store because he had to buy milk).</p>

<p>In the Barrons PSAT prep, there's a sentence that is supposed to be correct:</p>

<p>Survivors of a moajor catastrophe are <em>likely to exhibit aberrations of behavior because of the trauma they have experienced</em></p>

<p>(asteriks are the underlined portion)</p>

<p>However, I thought that "because of" is incorrectly used in this case.
If anyone can help clarify please do!!</p>

2

<p>This is a tough one. Honestly, the SAT doesn’t test so minute detail that it should cause this confusion. “Because of” sounds good to me, so does “due to.” The directions says to pick the sentence written correctly (the best). Here’s what I tell myself every writing test:</p>

<p>If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.</p>

<p>:)</p>

3

<p>Thank you!!</p>