TPC-Journal-V5-Issue3

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 3 362 The second research consideration is related to other communities of which the Greek members may be a part. College athletes have been found to drink more alcohol and engage more often in binge drinking than non-athletes (Hildebrand, Johnson, & Bogle, 2001; Nelson & Wechsler, 2001). In fact, Huchting, Lac, Hummer, and LaBrie (2011) compared independent samples of Greek members’ and athletes’ drinking patterns and found that athletes experienced significantly greater conformity reasons for drinking (i.e., social pressures that push an individual to conform and engage in alcohol use) than Greek members. Greek members experienced significantly more social problems from drinking. However, it is unknown whether there are differences between drinking behaviors of Greek members who are athletes and those who are not. This could be important information to assist clinicians in determining where to target prevention strategies. The final research consideration relates to gaining a better understanding of how individual Greek member’s drinking patterns change over an academic year. Therefore, future studies should include identifiers for participants to determine whether individual changes occur. Conclusion Consistent with other research, banning alcohol in Greek housing does not appear to reduce levels of drinking. Students may benefit from alcohol-free environments for reasons other than reducing drinking, but alcohol-free environments seem to have little impact on student drinking behaviors. There may even be some concerns about the risks involved in drinking away from one’s residence such as driving while intoxicated. The larger issue around alcohol use in the Greek system is how to challenge the established drinking norms in ways that encourage students to drink safely. Helping students focus on the deeper meaning of Greek membership that promotes a sense of community and enhances the values of the fraternity or sorority may be a direction for future interventions. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The authors reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript. References Ashmore, R. D., Del Boca, F. K., & Beebe, M. (2002). “Alkie,” “frat brother,” and “jock”: Perceived types of college students and stereotypes about drinking. Journal of Applied Social Psychology , 32 , 885–907. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb00247.x Babor, T. F., Higgins-Biddle, J. C., Saunders, J. B., & Monteiro, M. G. (2001). AUDIT: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test—Guidelines for use in primary care (2nd ed.) World Health Organization: Geneva, Switzerland. Barry, A. E. (2007). Using theory-based constructs to explore the impact of Greek membership on alcohol- related beliefs and behaviors: A systematic literature review.  Journal of American College Health ,  56 , 307– 315. doi:10.3200/JACH.56.3.307-316 Barry, A. E., Chaney, B. H., Stellefson, M. L., & Dodd, V. (2015). Evaluating the psychometric properties of the AUDIT-C among college students. Journal of Substance Use , 20 , 1–5. doi:10.3109/14659891.2013.856479 Borsari, B., Hustad, J. T. P., & Capone, C. (2009). Alcohol use in the Greek system, 1999–2009: A decade of progress. Current Drug Abuse Reviews , 2 , 216–255.