130 likes | 228 Views
Marijuana Use & Academic Achievement. Marion Hughes Sociology 391 Spring 2011. Independent Variable: Marijuana Use. Q. 110: How many days out of the past 30 have you used marijuana? 0 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21+ Recoded into 3 ordinal categories:
E N D
Marijuana Use & Academic Achievement Marion Hughes Sociology 391 Spring 2011
Independent Variable: Marijuana Use Q. 110: How many days out of the past 30 have you used marijuana? 0 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21+ Recoded into 3 ordinal categories: 0 1-5 6 +
Dependent Variable: Cumulative GPA Q14. Please indicate the range that best categorizes your current cumulative grade point average. Don’t have one 2.50 or less 2.51 – 2.67 2.68 – 3.50 3.51 or higher Recoded into three ordinal categories: 2.67 or less 2.68 – 3.50 3.51 or higher
Research hypothesis • Students who use marijuana will have lower GPAs than students who do not. • The frequency of marijuana use is negatively related to cumulative grade point average.
Method: contingency table X2 = 2.177, df = 4, p <.703
Bivariate results • No statistically significant relationship between marijuana use and GPA • My hypothesis is not supported
Control variable: Sex Q. 204. What is your sex? female male Hypothesis: Controlling for sex, the frequency of marijuana use is negatively related to cumulative grade point average.
X2 = 10.910, df =4, p <.028 Cramer’s V = .235 Females
Results for females • Moderately strong, statistically significant relationship between marijuana use and GPA • However, my hypothesis is not supported • The occasional users (1-5 times a month) have the lowest GPAs • 17.3% more of the women who used 6+ times last month have GPAs above 3.5 than women who never used
Results for males • No statistically significant relationship • Hypothesis not supported
Outcome of elaboration • Hypothesis not supported by the data • Specification: significant relationship only exists for women, although not in the predicted direction
Implications • Shortcomings: time order of variables • Further research • Legalization of marijuana