Wording about direction of
an association depends on the type of variable in question. Ordinal,
interval or ratio variables can be described in terms of positive,
negative, or level associations – whether the dependent variable
rises, falls, or stays constant as the value of the independent
variable increases. For nominal variables, name the different
categories being compared because it doesn’t make sense to say “as
gender” increases. See Miller (2004), Chapters 4 and 9 for more on
writing about direction and magnitude for different types of
variables.
