A new study in Behavioral Sciences looked at how parents' attitudes relate to student drinking and to joining fraternities or sororities. Researchers asked parents and students about drinking before college and during the first year.
Parents were asked how wrong they thought heavy episodic drinking would be. The study defined this as four or more drinks on one occasion for women and five or more for men. Students were asked how permissive they thought their parents were about alcohol.
The study found that more permissive parental attitudes were linked to joining Greek groups and to higher binge drinking. The authors suggest parenting programs, and they point to the Letting Go and Staying Connected program from Washington State University, which has spread to nine other universities in Washington.
Difficult words
- attitude — a person's feeling or view about somethingattitudes
- heavy episodic drinking — drinking many alcoholic drinks on one occasion
- permissive — allowing behavior that others would limit
- binge drinking — drinking a large amount of alcohol quickly
- fraternity — a college social group for male studentsfraternities
- sorority — a college social group for female studentssororities
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you think parents should talk to their children about alcohol before college? Why or why not?
- Have you seen or heard of a parenting program in your area? Would it help reduce student drinking?
- Would joining a college social group change a student's drinking? Why might that happen?
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