Marijuana Use Among Community College Students: A Study of Academic and Social Involvement

This quantitative study examined the effects of marijuana on academic and social involvement in undergraduates using a structural equation model. The study was conducted at a mid-sized comprehensive community college in the mid-West and was guided by Astin’s (1985) theory of student involvement and by Anderson’s (1998) cultural identity theory of drug abuse. A survey link was e-mailed to all 4,527 eligible students at the college and 573 students participated in the study. Of the 573 students, 194 identified as users of marijuana and were used as the primary basis of the study. The data from the survey were used in a structural equation model to determine correlations between academic and social involvement and marijuana use. Independent samples t-tests were also used to compare users to non-users of marijuana. The overall results of the study showed no significant correlation between marijuana use and academic and social involvement. Further, a positive, significant difference regarding academic involvement was revealed between infrequent users of marijuana compared to non-users. A negative, significant difference regarding social involvement was also found between more than once daily users of marijuana and non-users