Interesting Study

[moe.ron]

[afanewsclips] Fraternity Drinkers Can Say 'No' to Alcohol
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 10:09:46 -0800


ABCNEWS.com
March 12, 2001

Frat Drinkers Can Say 'No' to Alcohol

- Fraternity brothers and sorority sisters drink more than other
students - but only while in college, a new study finds.

"This is an important study because for the first time it shows
directly how important the perception of peer support is in these
groups and that the behavior changes after college when presumably
the peer support ends," says Bruce D. Bartholow, assistant professor
of psychology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, an
author on the study.

"Previously, some people have believed that students were in
fraternities and sororities drank heavily because that's the kind of
personality they have."

Bartholow and colleagues compared the drinking behavior of 319
continuously enrolled "Greek" students and other college students
enrolled at the University of Missouri.

They assessed their drinking habits during their four years of
college and again, three years after graduation.

The study is published in the March issue of journal Psychology of
Addictive Behaviors.

Experts, though, questioned the short-term nature of the study's
findings and said college-age drinking leads to risky sexual
behavior, aggression, driving dangers and other problems.

'Greeks' Drink More, But Stop

Members of the Greek letter organizations drank three times as much
than non-members during college years, the investigators found.

But three years later the drinking behavior of the two groups, on
average, was the same, they found.

Bartholow attributes the change in the Greeks to the different
environments they find themselves in during and after college.

"What is socially acceptable in college is not the norm afterwards,"
Bartholow says. "Removing them from the college and putting them at
work or in marriage changes their behavior."

Commenting on the study, Henry Wechsler, principal investigator of
another alcohol study at the Harvard School of Public Health that has
analyzed trends in college drinking since 1993, challenged the focus
on just three years after college.

"Alcohol problems are a lifetime issue," Wechsler says. "People will
start and stop drinking throughout their life and an early experience
might have helped spur them on."

Focus Should Be On Intervention

He also called for attention on the harm college-age drinking does do.

"The issue is not whether it continues or not, but what to do at the
time the drinking occurs," Wechsler says. "What is the effect that
drinking has on the educational experience of the students in the
Greek houses and the other students?"

Besides hurting themselves, Wechsler says Greek drinking hurts the
quality of life of other students through late-night disturbances,
fights and unwanted sexual advances.

Wechsler also questions the small size of the study and whether the
findings are generalizable. In his study of more than 13,000 students
in more than 140 colleges, he found heavy drinkers were more likely
to join fraternities.

Bartholow does not dispute the need for intervention during college.
He says his research supports targeting peer-based interventions to
stop the excessive drinking, as well as involving the community, such
as bars and the college administration in helping to change college
student perceptions about what is normal.

"We need to direct more efforts to get to the source of the beliefs
that excessive college drinking is the norm," Bartholow says. "It
doesn't have to be the norm."

Copyright © 2001 ABC News Internet Ventures.

[sigmagrrl]

That is an interesting study. I can attest to it's truthfulness. Now, I rarely drank when I was in college, but when I did, it was definitely binge drinking. But I don't even touch alcohol now. Actually, I rescind that. I have a glass of wine evrey 6 months or so. So, alcohol consumption really does seem to be a peer influence issue, well, in my life anyway.

[twinstars]

that makes sense to me, too. i drink pretty heavily while at school, but over the summer, not a drop--no one to go out with at home and i don't find it difficult to just not drink during the summer. i think it really depends on the social situation i'm in.

[This message has been edited by twinstars (edited March 14, 2001).]

[mgdzkm433]

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?

[AKA_Monet]

I just read that off the excite health information! Pretty interesting...

[33girl]

This study ranks right up there with "Sky Blue: Film at 11." I remember Ann Landers talking about this in her column 10 years ago and college grads basically saying the same things this study says. I was also like you twinstars - my social life at home on break was nil and I went without drinking for months. I also didn't have study/friends/guy pressure while I was home. And as Mikki said, it has to do with getting that craziness out of your system. Sure some people do end up having alcohol problems, but I think those people would have had them no matter what - alcoholism is a disease that you never know you have till you try, whether you're 18 or 58.

One more thought: Henry Wechsler deserves some sort of media whore award for getting more mileage than I've ever seen out of a study done with questionable and ambiguous methodology and using that study mainly to advance his own name. He can bite me.

[amycat412]

i agree too.

i drank in college more than I do now-- but it was social, situational and definitely binge drinking. now i have a glass or two of wine and i'm done. except my 30th birthday--that was a return to binge college type drinking...oh wait, for another forum.

[KABillyMac]

33,
You've been pretty aggressive in your posts lately. Feelin a little froggy??? Good to see you posting in defense of beer.

He can bite me too.

[33girl]

OK BillyMac...maybe I have been a little saltier than usual lately. If you saw my desk at work you'd know why. It looks like a damned paper mill exploded and no signs of getting better soon. I really do not need this much stress in my life.

Can't wait till tomorrow....I'm going out dancing with my sisters and blow off some steam....PARTY TIME!!

[33girl]

OK BillyMac...maybe I have been a little saltier than usual lately. If you saw my desk at work you'd know why. It looks like a damned paper mill exploded and no signs of getting better soon. I really do not need this much stress in my life.

Can't wait till tomorrow....I'm going out dancing with my sisters and blow off some steam....PARTY TIME!!

[James]

Gee 33girl, I thought you had a hasslefree life . . . so why do you always complain?

Originally posted by 33girl:
OK BillyMac...maybe I have been a little saltier than usual lately. If you saw my desk at work you'd know why. It looks like a damned paper mill exploded and no signs of getting better soon. I really do not need this much stress in my life.

Can't wait till tomorrow....I'm going out dancing with my sisters and blow off some steam....PARTY TIME!!

[33girl]

Originally posted by James:
Gee 33girl, I thought you had a hasslefree life . . . so why do you always complain?

James,

You are really pushing your luck, bucko.

Check your email, by the way.