Anyone who’s attended college has probably hit a debaucherous frat party. I spent many freshman nights getting plastered at houses like Pi Phi and Sigma Chi on “The Row” near USC, drinking shot after shot after tequila, swinging on the bathroom doors and eventually puking on myself. Fun times!
Of course, there are plenty of not-so-funny consequences of booze-obsessed Greek culture. Attempts at alcohol abuse intervention have taken place in fraternities and sororities throughout America. However, a recently-released study proves that deeply ingrained attitudes about alcohol are the reason frat dudes just can’t get sober. Interestingly, these same intervention methods did work on the non-Greek college students.
So what’s so special about frats and sororities?
Enjoy It Now Because After College It’s Called Alcoholism
The study came out of Brown University and the Miriam Hospital of Rhode Island. Researchers analyzed 25 years of data from 15 different studies that tracked the boozing rituals of more than 6,000 frat and sorority members in the US. Sorority members only accounted for 18% of the participants.
Dr. Lori Scott-Sheldon, lead author on the study, told VICE that the reason frat boys tend to overdo it with the partying is because they “view alcohol use as a means to achieve their social and sexual goals.”
“We expected that a well-designed alcohol intervention delivered to members of Greek organizations would help members reduce their drinking when compared to controls, but that did not happen,” Scott-Sheldon added. “Why not? We believe that individual fraternity members may find it challenging to act on their plans to reduce the amount they drink given that they are immersed in a social environment that endorses and facilitates alcohol use.”
What Do the Frat Boys Have to Say?
In response to this news, VICE did their own little study. Staff writer Jake Kivanç interviewed a bunch of frat bros to get the scoop on why exactly they can’t (or don’t want to) stop drinking.
Kivanç asked Jamal, a 26-year-old former frat bro, whether he thought addiction to alcohol “is a real issue to be concerned about for people joining frats?” The frat bro’s response was “You need to be a particular kind of person to live in a fraternity and still get stuff done. Basically, if you can go to a party and turn down coke, or have a long-term relationship, or hold down a job, take care of yourself and your body, then you can probably do it. It’s people who were already erratic and have bad [judgement]who tend to fall into really long benders and start to fail their classes.” So, Jamal is saying that if you aren’t already tip-toeing toward the deep end, frat house culture may not be too deleterious.
Erik, a 19-year-old frat dude currently enrolled in college may be the kind of at-risk guy Jamal is talking about. “I drink every day,” he told Kivanç, “and I’m pretty much always drunk. I would say I have an alcohol problem.” When Kivanç asked if Erik’s alcohol problems started once he joined the fraternity, Erik said “No, but [being in a frat]doesn’t help. Now I have no good support to pull my ass together. I’ve been seeing a doctor about it.” Erik added that frat culture is “not an environment conducive” to a discussion about his mental health. “There are smart ass mother fucking dudes here, but it’s like living with roommates and telling them about your issues. A lot of people just don’t want to hear it, and the more people there are, the better chance people aren’t going to listen”.
Animal House May Not Be The Best Housing Option
Given the pressure college naturally puts on any student, adding to that pressure the need to drink to “fit in” is a recipe for alcohol abuse. As Scott-Sheldon says “Excessive college drinking is associated with a range of academic, physical, psychological alcohol-related consequences such as property damage, personal injury, memory loss, sexual assault, and expulsion.” Though frat life may be innocuous for a “normie”, any guy who thinks they may have a drinking problem may want to bow out from joining. If you want to drink yourself silly, fine. But doing it to “fit in” or get laid isn’t worth all the risks.
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