Fix It a Health Psychologist Is Interested in Understanding the Effect of Effect

question 46

Essay

Fix It
A health psychologist is interested in understanding the effect of age of first menstrual cycle and fertility. A random sample of 300 women is selected from a total population of 803 female patients across three clinics in a small northeastern Texas city. The women in the sample are sent a letter requesting their participation in the study. A total of 82 women provide their informed consent to participate. The researcher contacts each volunteer via telephone and asks them the age at which they first menstruated, the total number of pregnancies they had, and the total number of live births they experienced. In addition, the researchers ask the women questions about their ethnicity, highest level of educational attainment, and household income. Quantitative analyses revealed that the earliest age of menstruation was 9 years, and the oldest age was 17 years. The researcher divides age of first menstruation into three categories: early (9-11), average (12-14), and late (15-17). She calculates the mean number of pregnancies for each age group. She also decides to determine if educational attainment affects fertility and compares the mean number of births by women with a high school diploma (or less), and the mean number of births by women with greater than a high school diploma. Her first analysis indicates that women who menstruate early in life are less fertile than those who menstruate at a typical age, or those who menstruate later in life. Her second analysis reveals that those with more education are more fertile than those with less education. The researcher concludes that while age of menstrual onset is a factor associated with fertility, the ability to become pregnant can be increased with education.
Identify the strengths and limitations of this study. For each limitation offer a solution.

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Definitions:

Complement

A good or service that is used together with another good or service, increasing the value of both.

Equilibrium Price

The market price at which the quantity of goods supplied is equal to the quantity of goods demanded, achieving market balance.

Equilibrium Quantity

The quantity of goods or services that is supplied and demanded at the equilibrium price, where demand and supply are equal.

Equilibrium Price

The cost at which the amount of a product or service that consumers want to purchase matches the amount available, leading to equilibrium in the market.