Description of the Attitudes, Knowledge and Beliefs on Marijuana in Undergraduate Students Compared to Nursing Undergraduate Students

Introduction: The use of marijuana has drastically increased over the years. Not only is marijuana being used to treat personal symptoms, but some women use marijuana to manage pregnancy-related symptoms.\nObjective: To discover the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of marijuana in the undergraduate student population at the University of Connecticut.\nMethod: A cross sectional study conducted through Qualtrics using a 15-questions survey, including 5-point Likert scale questions and 5 yes/no questions.\nResult: Forty-nine non-nursing students completed the survey. Non-nursing students in comparison to the population as a whole agreed that marijuana use was okay (M = 3.959, SD = 1.39), t(48) = 19.813, p = .0001, was okay for the general population (M = 12.367, SD = 1.88), t(48) = 45.815, p = .0001, and not appropriate for use during pregnancy (M = 49, SD = 1.135), t(48) = 51.856, p = .0001 with age being a significant contributing variable X2(25, N=49)= 40.013, p=.0029. In comparison to nursing students, non-nursing students were significantly less supportive of general marijuana t(111) = -2.03, p = .045 and use during pregnancy t(111) = -2.35, p =.020 but not in their belief on the effect on the fetus.\nDiscussion: A takeaway remains that older undergraduate students understand the effect of marijuana on pregnancy and fetus development. However, there was limited knowledge of marijuana effects in the younger undergraduate population and how that affects parenting decisions in the future.