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2008
By: Jacob Kemble, Matt Kelly,
Taylor Shannon
BUS 304
5/14/2008
The Relationship between Alcohol and Students GPA
The Relationship between Alcohol and Students
Introduction
We started out our survey by sitting down and brainstorming ideas as for what we should
complete our survey on. We wanted to make sure our topic would be on something that many
students were involved with, with the intent to prove our hypothesis. We decided to focus our
attention on the issue of if there is a relationship between alcohol and students. We constructed a
survey of 13 questions, each question relating to alcohol behaviors inside and outside of school.
We each passed out 25 surveys to various students in several different classes. All of the
students we chose to survey were attending the College of Business at Cal State University San
Marcos.
Research Questions and the Value of Study:
We used 13 questions in our survey. The survey was confidential and we asked that no
names were put on the paper. They ranged from basic demographic information to very specific
questions relating to alcohol and students. For demographic information we asked if they were
male or female, as this was important for knowing whether maybe males or females drank more
than the other and thus corresponded to having a lower grade point average. We wanted to know
how old they were. First to see if they were even legally able to drink and if there was a
correlation between the age and GPA. We had them circle a number one through seven relating
to the number of days the student normally consumes alcohol. We also include a None option
for those that did not drink. This question was to help us see how often the student was drinking
on a weekly basis. We asked for the number of drinks they consume when they do drink at one
sitting. We gave important serving sizes with the questions to help the students make a more
precise answer. We used a range that was small and only included two numbers; ex: 1-2, 3-4,…,
18+. Next, we wanted to know what type of drink they drank. This would help us to determine
the amount they were really drinking. Someone who drank 10 glasses of wine versus a person
that drank 10 beers would be different. We had four options: beer, wine, hard liquor, and
variety. Variety was used to insure that if some people mixed, or didn’t stick to one type of
drink they would also be included. We asked if they had ever gotten a DUI. With a DUI it
would be more difficult to get to school, which could affect how well the student performed. We
asked had they ever been arrested and if so how many times. This would also affect how a
student does , because they could be locked up in jail due to drinking and miss class. We asked
if they had gotten sick before and if so how many times. This would also help us to determine if
they were drinking a lot and could miss classes due to bad health. Another question was if they
had ever missed classes due to alcohol, which again could affect how they did and if their GPA
was high or low compared to other who miss class because of drinking. Along with that question,
we asked if the students had ever missed any assignments due to drinking and if so how many. If
students were missing assignments due to alcohol they would be getting worse GPAs. We asked
if they had ever had alcohol on campus to determine if they maybe had a problem with drinking
and school. We also asked if they had ever been intoxicated in class. This could affect how the
student learned while at school. The last question we asked was for the students’ grade point
average. This was ever important in correlating all the other information we would be gathering
based on the other questions.
Hypothesis:
For our research, we decided to answer the question of whether or not alcohol affects
students’ performance in school. We set out to find if there is any correlation between
various alcohol related factors and students’ GPAs. Our null hypothesis was; Students
who drink more than five nights a week will have a GPA lower than a 3.0. Our
alternative hypothesis was: Students who drink more than five nights a week will have a
GPA higher than a 3.0. This is our null hypothesis: H₀ = µ ≤ 3.0, and this is our
alternative hypothesis: HA = µ > 3.0.
Demographics:
We had a total number of students surveyed equaling seventy five. Of those seventy five
business students surveyed there were forty two males and thirty three females. The minimum
age for males was twenty and the maximum age was forty six. The minimum age for females
was also twenty and the maximum age was forty three. This gave a percentage outcome of fifty
six percent males to forty four percent females surveyed. We looked at the age of people
surveyed and the number of people surveyed and graphed the outcome. We found the Mean age
was twenty four years old. We found the Median was twenty two years old. The Mode was
twenty one. Meaning that the most people surveyed were twenty one years old. The Standard
Deviation was 5.37. The Variance was 28.82. There were six students who drank that were
under the legal age limit of twenty one years old.
Mean: 24 Median: 22Mode: 21 Standard Dev: 5.37Variance: 28.82Min: 20 Max:46
Age of People Surveyed
6
20
14
11
7
1
3
1 12
12
1 1 1 1 1 1
0
5
10
15
20
25
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 35 39 40 43 46
Num
ber o
f Peo
ple
in S
urve
y
Age
Question Results:
Consumption per Night-
For consumption per night we graphed the number of drinks students have and the
number of students. We found that the Mean was 3.96. This states that the average student
drinks a little less than four drinks when they do drink. The Median was 3.5. The Mode was
also 3.5. The Standard Deviation was 3.72. The Variance was 13.83. The minimum amount
drank by students was zero and the maximum was seventeen to eighteen drinks per sitting/night.
Mean: 3.96 Median: 3.5Mode: 3.5 Standard Dev.: 3.72Variance: 13.83Min: 0 Max: 17.513
18
20
9
6
43
01 1
0
5
10
15
20
25
0 1 to 2 3 to 4 5 to 6 7 to 8 9 to 10 11 to 12 13 to 14 15 to 16 17 to 18
Num
ber o
f Peo
ple
Who
Dri
nk
Number of Drinks
Preferred Drink Type-
For preferred drink type we used a pie chart to show the percentages of what students
choose to drink. The majority chose to drink a variety of drinks. Variety was thirty two percent.
Beer was second choice of drink picked at twenty eight percent. The None option was third with
eighteen percent. Then it was followed by hard liquor with thirteen percent. And wine was the
smallest at nine percent.
Total Number of People Surveyed:
75
28%
13%
18%
32%
9%
Beer (21)Hard Liquor (10)None (13)Variety (24)Wine (7)
Nights per Week Students Drink-
We also graphed the nights per week students drank to the number of students in the
survey. We found that the Mean was two. This states that the average number of nights students
choose to drink is two. The Median was also two. The Mode was one. The means that the most
amount of students only drink one night a week. The Standard Deviation was 1.73 and the
Variance was 2.99. We found that thirteen people drank less than one time a week and only one
person surveyed out of the seventy five drank every night of the week.
Mean: 2 Median: 2Mode: 1 Standard Dev.: 1.73Variance: 2.99
13
23
13
109
3 31
0
5
10
15
20
25
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Num
ber o
f Peo
ple
Who
Dri
nk
Nights Per Week
Students with DUIs:
DUI vs . No DUI
6
69
DUI
No DUI
The above pie chart is in relation to the question of whether or not the student taking the survey
has gotten a DUI anytime in their past. Although this question may seem like it does not directly relate to
a student’s GPA, it does have some significance and can affect a student’s schoolwork and therefore their
GPA. In most cases people who get a DUI lose their license, usually up to a year. Not having solid
transportation for school can cause many problems for someone, as they must find an alternative way to
get to class. This can affect their GPA in many ways because it can force them to miss class as well as
assignments that are due and quizzes and tests that are given in class. In our sample of 75 College of
Business students, 6 students have had a DUI recently or in their past and 69 have never had a DUI. These
numbers show that 8% of our sample has had a DUI. Out of those 6 students, the average GPA was 3.11,
which was higher than we expected, and the average age was 23.
Students Being Arrested Due to Alcohol
10 3 16
0
15
30
45
60
75
Number of Arres ts Related to Alcohol
Arres ted
Multiple Arres ts
Total Arres ts
The bar chart shown above relates to the question from our survey on whether the students
surveyed have been arrested, and if so, how many times. This question was also one that may not seem to
directly relate to a student’s GPA, but in many ways it can affect it. If a student is arrested, there is a
possibility they might be jailed whether it is for a short or long period of time. They also will have court
dates in the near future. Both of these can affect a student’s schoolwork and consequently their GPA
because either of those issues may force them to miss class and schoolwork such as assignments, quizzes,
and tests. Out of the 75 College of Business students we surveyed, a total of 10 had been arrested, which
is 13.33% of the total sample. From those 10 students, 3 have been arrested multiple times and the total
number arrests are 16. The average GPA of the arrested students was 3.025, and the student who had been
arrested the most times, which was 4, had the lowest GPA of the group with a 2.70.
Number of Times Sick Due to Alcohol
Above is a bar chart that relates to the survey question regarding how many times the survey
taker has gotten sick from drinking alcohol. We decided to put this question in our survey because it can
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
0
1 to 5
6 to 10
11 to 15
16 to 20
21 to 25
26 to 30
30 +
Number of Times Students Become Sick from Alcohol
also affect a student’s schoolwork which usually leads to a lower GPA. If a student is sick from alcohol
they may not complete assignments that are due and can even miss class. Being sick can also affect how
well a student does in class. If they are hung-over the next day after because of drinking the night before
they may have a hard time following along in class, taking notes, and participating. All this can set them
behind in the class. The graph above breaks down the numbers into ranges of how many times they have
been sick and the following is the results:
• 0: 19 = 25.33%
• 1 to 5: 30 = 40%
• 6 to 10: 15 = 20%
• 11 to 15: 4 = 5.33%
• 16 to 20: 1 = 1.33%
• 21 to 25: 5 = 6.67%
• 26 to 30: 1 = 1.33%
• 30 +: 0 = 0%
This data shows that the majority of the students surveyed have not been sick more than 10 times in their
life from alcohol. The highest percentage lies in the 1 to 5 range, which we believe is fairly low.
Correlation of Missed Classes and GPA
The Correlation chart above is in relation to the question asked on the survey about how many times the
College of Business student has missed a class due to alcohol. We asked the 3 previous questions all to
lead up to this specific question. One issue that we wanted to answer was how much missing classes
affects your GPA, specifically if you missed the class due to alcohol. As seen in the graph, there is a
negative correlation between classes missed due to alcohol and student’s GPA. The large majority of the
sample of 75 students that we surveyed did not miss any classes due to alcohol. But as the number of
classes missed due to alcohol increases, the student’s GPAs do not exceed a 3.00.
Alcohol on Campus
Question eleven on the survey asked “Have you ever had alcohol on campus?” Out of
the 75 students who answered, 59 students said that they had not had alcohol while on campus.
On the other hand, 16 students said that they have had alcohol while on campus. With these
results, I decided to generate a pie chart illustrating the percentage of students who have had
C orrelation B etween Number of C las s es Mis s ed and GPA
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Number of C lasses Absent Due to Alcohol
GPA
GP A
alcohol on campus versus those who have not. Below is figure 1.1, which represents the pie
chart showing the relationship between the two.
Yes21%
No79%
Totals:
Yes: 16 StudentsNo: 59 Students
Figure 1.1
Obviously, the majority of students have not had alcohol on campus. When looking at the
average GPA’s of those who said “yes” to those who said “no,” there is a small difference
between the two.
Out of those who said “Yes,” the lowest GPA was a 2.70. While the highest GPA out of
the 16 students came out to be a 3.50. I then computed the mean GPA out of the 16 students by
adding all of their GPA’s together and dividing it by the total number of students (16). In doing
so, I came out with 3.05 as the mean GPA. Out of those who said “No,” the lowest GPA was a
2.60, and the highest GPA was a 3.80. I then computed the mean of the “no” group, which came
out to be 3.13.
W
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have
GPA (Group A) GPA (Group B) GPA
Lowest 2.60 2.70
Highest 3.80 3.25
Mean 3.16 2.98
As the results show, Group A’s mean is somewhat larger than Group B’s. The difference
between the mean of the two groups is .18, giving it an 18% difference. Also, The highest GPA
in Group A is .55 more than Group B’s GPA. However, Group A’s lowest GPA is less than
Group B’s, but only by .10. Overall, we can conclude that the correlation between the amount of
assignments a student missed due to alcohol and their GPA is relevant.
Intoxicated In Class
At first we weren’t sure if the question we wanted to put on the survey would even be
applicable to any students. However, one member of our group was positive that some students
have done this act of irresponsibility, and he was right. The question I have been referring to is,
“Have you been intoxicated while in class, and if so, how many times?” After collecting all of
the data, I computed the mean, mode, and standard deviation of the GPA. The mean GPA for
those who have been to class intoxicated 0 times is 3.13. The mean for those who have been to
class one or more times intoxicated was 3.10. As one can see, there was not much of a
difference. The mode for those who never went to class intoxicated was 3.00 and the standard
deviation was .321661. The mode for those who have been to class intoxicated was 3.25 and the
standard deviation was .22873.
In order to get a better perceptive on the results, we created a scatter plot with the
amount of times a student has been intoxicated in class to their GPA. When constructing the
scatter plot, we disregarded the one student who said they had been intoxicated 20 times in class.
The reason for doing this was because with that one statistic included the scatter was not so
widespread. Figure 1.3 is the scatter plot.
Figure 1.3
There is a slight negative correlation between the number of times a student has been intoxicated
in class and their GPA. As the amount of times a student comes to class intoxicated, their GPA
decreases.
2.40
2.60
2.80
3.00
3.20
3.40
3.60
3.80
4.00
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
GPA
# of Times intoxicated in class
Scatter Plot of # of Times intoxicated in class to GPA
GPA
Linear (GPA)
Regressio
W
alcohol to
alcohol as
on Analysis
We also compl
o their GPA. W
s the independ
leted a regres
We used GPA
dent variable
ssion analysis
A as the depen
(x). Below is
that compare
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s the finished
ed the numbe
e (y), and the
regression an
r of nights stu
number of ni
nalysis that w
udent drink
ights drinking
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g
ith.
Conclusio
In
week will
students w
GPA lowe
lower than
Improvem
O
number of
circumsta
the numbe
questions
such as w
0
5
10
15
20
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30
35
40
on
n the end, we
l have a GPA
who drank ov
er than a 3.0.
n a 3.0.
ments
Overall we felt
f nights a stud
ances that we
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when we asked
Drinking overper we
3
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o not reject ou
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28
ur null hypoth
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GP
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dents who drin
ws that there w
ts, which is ov
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swer, which w
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nk over 5 nigh
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ver 57%, had
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at if we decrea
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s the
ased
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fic in
the question without the use of ranges for their answers. Finally we all agreed that we would have liked to
have a larger sample size than we used for our survey. However with losing a teammate at the last minute,
we were unable to recover his data and because we split up the surveys equally among the 4 original team
members, we lost 25% of our data. With those in mind, we all believe we worked great together and
overcome a few obstacles to produce a great analysis on how much consuming alcohol can affect a
student’s GPA.
SAMPLE SURVEY
Drinking and School
Disclaimer: This survey is confidential: DO NOT PLACE YOUR NAME ON THIS SURVEY
Are you? Male Female
How old are you?
How many nights per week do you drink? Circle one
None 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
When you drink how many drinks do you consume per sitting?
(Serving Size 1.5 oz. Liquor 12 oz. Beer 6 oz Wine)
Circle one: 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 11-12 13-14 15-16 17-18 18+
What do you drink? Circle one: Beer Wine Hard Liquor Variety
Have you ever gotten a DUI? If so how many times?
Have been arrested for being under the influence? If so how many times?
Have you ever become sick after drinking too much? If so how many times?
Has drinking caused you to be absent in class this semester? If so how many times?
Has drinking caused you to miss assignment deadlines this semester? If so how many times?
Have you ever had alcohol on campus?
Have you ever been intoxicated while in class? If so how many times?
What is your current grade point average?
