Heavy Drinking Behaviors and Parental Influence Among Greek Affiliated College Students

• Main Author: Harris, Melodie
• Format: Others
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2014
• Subjects: Fraternity; sorority; Greek; drinking; binge drinking; parental influence; Criminology
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2320; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3678&context=etd

Heavy drinking behaviors have been observed in relation to fraternity and sorority membership. Some have argued that this relationship persists as a result of the drinking-conducive social environments of Greek organizations, but others have suggested that this relationship may be spurious. Using data from The Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (n = 10,904) the link between Greek affiliation, alcohol consumption, and parental influence was examined through the lens of social learning theory. It was hypothesized that members of Greek organizations would report higher levels of drinking compared to others and that the inclusion of the variable of parental influence would effectively render this relationship spurious. The results reveal a strong relationship between Greek affiliation and drinking behaviors, but parental influence failed to sufficiently account for this relationship.