Fraternities, Sororities, and Substance Abuse

The extent of Substance Abuse in College Groups

There are a lot of successful people in the world today who were once involved with Greek life. It’s more common that lawyers, politicians, or major company CEOs came from major fraternal organizations. But there is a dark side to these organizations while their members are attending school. The National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) reported in 2002 that there are 500,000 fraternity members injured each year due to unintentional alcohol-related incidents. With this, there are 1,400 alcohol-related deaths each year in fraternity organizations across the country. Due to Greek life drinking, sorority sisters are more likely to experience the severe trauma of unwanted sexual relations. According to the NCJRS, two out of five sorority sisters will encounter unwanted sexual actions.   

The overall alcohol consumption in fraternal organizations is also higher than other college drinkers. While 36 percent of college students have admitted to binge drinking monthly, 86 percent of fraternity members have admitted to monthly binge drinking. This level of alcohol consumption leads to many incidents such as major injuries, car accidents, academic failure, sexual assault, or death. Using addictive substances doesn’t end with alcohol, as drugs have become more common in fraternity houses. Marijuana use has been raised among fraternity members and prescription drugs like Ritalin, Adderall, Xanax, and Valium. 

What causes this kind of abuse in fraternity organizations? The common occurrences of peer pressure, constant parties, hazing, initiation rights, and wanting to fit in all play a role in the development of drug abuse. A 2007 article published by Psychology of Addictive Behavior found that fraternities are not inherently enforcing addictive behavior. Rather young adults in college that already have addictions or addictive behavior are drawn to fraternities. Due to the constant pressure and supply of alcohol, addictive behavior can thrive in these households. Due to these behaviors being normalized, binge drinking is a real problem among fraternities. 

The Harms of College Bingeing on Alcohol or Drugs

A serious concern among fraternal organizations is the occurrence of binge drinking. Binge drinking is described as drinking a large amount of alcohol in a short amount of time. The Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (HSPH) has found that college drinking has remained stable since 1993, but the act of binge drinking has been rising. Along with this, the act of abstaining from alcohol use altogether has also been rising. Colleges are concerned for many college students as alcohol impacts more students on college campuses than cocaine, marijuana, or cigarettes combined. According to HSPH, binge drinking is not as prevalent among non-fraternity members and affects four out of five fraternity and sorority members.  

HSPH also found in their research that women are more like to be affected by binge drinking, both by partaking in drinking and the secondhand effects. Women have a different metabolism than men, meaning they cannot drink as much without feeling the effects of alcohol more severely. Along with this, about 10 percent of Greek life women have been sexually assaulted or subjected to nonconsensual sex because of alcohol use. This is compared to the three percent of non-Greek life involved college women who experience binge drinking. 

Binge drinking is also prevalent among underage students involved in Greek life. The HSPH found that students under 21 drank on fewer occasions but would drink more per occasion than their-age counterparts. They also reported that nearly 58 percent of underage drinkers paid less than a dollar per drink, got all their drinks for free or paid a set price for all they could drink. These extremely low alcohol prices lead underage drinkers to more alcohol-related injuries than 21 or older. Another concern found in the HSPH research is that over half of the interviewed underage drinkers began their binge drinking habits in high school. This, in turn, makes Greek life very attractive to maintain their addictive behavior. There are ways that colleges can change the culture of college Greek life drinking.

Changing the Culture of College Life

To change the culture of college drinking, the school will need to step up and promote a new anti-drug culture on its campus. Fraternities can do some good with their philanthropy events, but that overshadows the constant harm and impending alcohol abuse problems. Schools like the University of California Berkley have taken a step in the right direction, banning all alcohol from fraternity and sorority houses in 2010. Other schools across the country have begun sponsoring alcohol prevention and treatment programs aimed at Greek life. Others have enforced zero-tolerance policies that can make an impact on Greek life drinking. Some of the biggest reasons these new policies are adopted are because alcohol and drug abuse are getting out of hand. Another approach to anti-substance is properly educating Greek life members, school staff, alumni, and parents. If they see the harmful effects of alcohol and drug use, there is a lower chance that members will begin using.  

Changing the culture among Greek life will also affect those members after they have left college. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has found that people previously involved with Greek life will continue to use addictive substances after graduation. People tend to show symptoms of alcohol use disorder by the age of 35. Even more concerning, NIDA found in their research that “males who lived for at least one semester in a fraternity house had significantly higher rates of binge drinking during and after college up through age 35, compared to their peers in college not involved in fraternities, and to non-students of the same age.” Drug use is also prevalent in former Greek life members. Many still using drugs like marijuana through their mid-30s. College administrations need to really involve themselves in the process of change if they want Greek life and college campuses to see positive alterations.