Drinking interventions don't help students

Thursday, May 19, 2016 - 12:07 StudyHall.Rocks

Programs generally don't help curtail fraternity drinking.

Even if university administrators don’t like to think about that shabby house with the Greek letters out front (or close their eyes when they drive by), they know that somewhere on campus an Animal House can be found with occupants in various states of insobriety.

    It is a hardened tradition, and noble efforts to curtail drinking in these organizations haven’t paid off, according to a recent study. An analysis of research involving 6,000 university students spanning from 1987 to 2014 shows that programs designed to reduce alcohol use among fraternity and sorority members aren’t working as hoped.
    While theoretically committed to leadership, friendship and community service, Greek letter organizations “are also known for their secrecy and rituals, hazing and alcohol use. Drinking is integrated into Greek social functions (e.g., fraternity parties), as well as hazing and pledging rituals,” said the study published in the journal, Health Psychology. “Members of Greek letter organizations consume higher quantities of alcohol, report more frequent drinking and experience more alcohol-related consequences relative to non-Greek peers.”
    In response, programs have been launched to educate students about the consequences of drinking and reduce alcohol use on campus. For example, those programs involved:

Individual and group sessions on alcohol education.
Retreats and in-house training on harm-reduction strategies.
Behavior self-management and self-control.

    The outcomes have been so-so. For example, four studies looked at heavy or “episodic” drinking and found “no significant difference” between students given the intervention and students not given the intervention.
    Some programs had an impact. Participants "did reduce the quantity consumed on specific occasions,” the study said.
    The work, led by Lori Scott-Sheldon, associate professor of research in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University, recommended stronger interventions. The study noted that only 18 percent of the participants in the studies were women, so findings may only be applicable to members of fraternities.
    While drinking is common on campuses across the country, it particularly is the case with fraternities and sororities. Most recently in April, two fraternities at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, were suspended following a probe of hazing and alcohol violations.

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