I have to agree, I don't drink nearly as much now as I did while in college. The social situations have changed.
. . . shows
directly how important the perception of peer support is in these
groups . . .
I have to slightly disagree. Where I find that this is possible and maybe I have a unique experience. I don't think that my drinking more in college was a 'peer' related issue really. I consider it more of a time period issue. College students are in a 4-5 year phase. They worry about classes, maybe a part time job, and their activities. That is basically it--and while ALL of us know that is hard, college students also take the opportunity to do the things they never have or never will get the chance to do again--one being more 'crazy'. How many of us have done things in college that we never DREAMED of doing any other time in our lives? Such as go on trips to remote places with no money, or go sky diving (when we know our parents would have flipped), or just act silly? I think college students do these things (including drinking) because they are excersising a freedom they've never had before and probably will never have again. Perhaps being greek gives people a means to do more things than not-being greek. Greeks typically host more parties, for instance, so of course the drinking rate is/might be higher. It's not based on support or pressure from peeers, but based on the availability to the means.
Does that make sense?
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