Self-reported alcohol use and perceptions of peer drinking among new Greek-affiliated college students

Heavy drinking is recognized as a primary public health concern for today's college students. While first-year students represent a high-risk group for heavy drinking, they are surpassed by the excessive drinking behaviors of Greek-affiliated students. Descriptive norms of alcohol consumption are supported as predictors of drinking among Greek pledges, and the acceptability of drinking behavior (injunctive norms) can be used to predict future drinking. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between current drinking and perceived normative alcohol use among Greek pledges. New Greek pledges (n=1,331) attending a large Southeastern university completed paper-and-pencil questionnaires (fraternity, n=372; sorority, n=949) on alcohol use behaviors. Participants reported an average of 17.92 (SD=16.39) drinks per week and 73.8% indicated recent binge drinking. More than two-thirds (67.2%) felt that most/nearly all of their close friends get drunk on a regular basis and 66.5% felt that their close friends approve/strongly approve of getting drunk. Bivariate analyses revealed significant relationships between average drinks consumed per week and all normative drinking items (p<.001) for both men and women. Stepwise regression analyses explained 32.5% (p<.001) of the variance in average weekly consumption among women and 25.8% (p<.001) among men. Health Education programs utilizing social norms messaging should include true normative data, since an entire student body's norms may not accurately reflect drinking among peers for heavy drinkers (i.e. Greek students). Thus, it is important to recognize that Greek students are at higher risk even prior to college matriculation, indicating a need for more targeted social norms-based interventions with this population.