TPC-Journal-V5-Issue3

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 3 360 Table 2 Mean Scores and Standard Deviations by Semester and Greek House Responses to AUDIT-C Questions Question by House Fall Semester 2012 Spring Semester 2013 n M SD n M SD Question 1: Sorority – Dry 148 1.96 .95 234 1.76 .92 Fraternity – Dry 50 2.50 .71 58 2.03 .99 Fraternity – Wet 165 2.45 .97 80 2.21 .94 Question 2: Sorority – Dry 148 1.89 .98 234 1.91 1.11 Fraternity – Dry 50 3.10 .86 58 2.36 1.19 Fraternity – Wet 165 2.87 1.18 80 2.35 1.19 Question 3: Sorority – Dry 148 1.22 .97 234 1.07 .93 Fraternity – Dry 50 2.40 .81 58 1.57 1.06 Fraternity – Wet 165 2.10 1.08 80 1.53 1.01 Total AUDIT-C: Sorority – Dry 148 5.02 .42 234 4.76 .35 Fraternity – Dry 50 7.94 .54 58 5.97 .82 Fraternity – Wet 165 7.42 .45 80 6.09 .61 Limitations This study has four main limitations. First, this study used a convenience sample of Greek members from one university that is not likely to represent the population of all Greek members. The second limitation is that volunteers may have answered the survey questions differently than members of the population who did not agree to participate would have. Another limitation is that the samples might not be truly independent; some participants could have filled out the survey in both the fall and spring. The final limitation is related to the survey being a self-report measure; participants may have provided answers that did not represent their true behaviors. However, previous researchers have found a statistically significant relationship between college respondents’ self-reported alcohol use when compared to the report from a collateral informant (Hagman, Cohn, Noel, & Clifford, 2010; Laforge, Borsari, & Baer, 2005). Discussion and Implications Regardless of whether Greek houses have a dry or wet status, drinking levels appear to be high and exceed what is considered safe on the AUDIT-C for both men and women living in Greek housing. Sororities have generally had policies that prohibit alcohol use in sorority houses, yet report levels of drinking that are considered hazardous. The lack of differences in drinking levels between men who