The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 40, No. 2 & Volume 41, No. 1 - 70

Larry D. Long

halls (Willoughby & Carroll, 2009) or suitestyle rooms (Cross et al., 2009) were more
likely to consume alcohol than were their peers
who lived in single-gender halls or standard
rooms, respectively. In terms of the relationship between gender and alcohol use, research
in the residential context has found that men
tended to consume alcohol more frequently
(Cross et al., 2009; Larimer et al., 2000) and
were more likely to binge drink (Cross et al.,
2009; Sharmer, 2005) than were women;
however, women were more likely to consume
alcohol before socializing, i.e., pre-party drinking (Paschall & Saltz, 2007). Drinking behaviors are inﬂuenced by both environmental
and personal factors; additional research is
needed to understand how the intersection
of these factors inﬂuences students' drinking
behaviors. Other limitations of the research
on alcohol use in residential settings is that
most of the studies were mono-institutional
in nature (Cross et al., 2009; Fromme et al.,
2008; Larimer et al., 2000; Sharmer, 2005) or
they focused on subpopulations, such as ﬁrstyear students (Fromme et al., 2008). Multiinstitutional research would shed additional
light on the alcohol use of college students and
improve the generalizability of the ﬁndings.

EXPERIENCES OF STUDENTS
RESIDING IN FRATERNITY/
SORORITY HOUSING
Research on fraternity/sorority housing has
primarily focused on health behaviors (Page &
O'Hegarty, 2006; Scott-Sheldon, Carey, & Carey,
2008) and alcohol and drug use (McCabe,
Knight, Teter, & Wechsler, 2005; Strote, Lee,
& Wechsler, 2002; Wechsler, Lee, Kuo, & Lee,
2000; Wechsler, Lee, Nelson, & Kuo, 2002).

70

In terms of the relationship
research in the residential context
has found that men tended to
consume alcohol more frequently
drink than were women; however,
women were more likely to
i.e., pre-party drinking.

Alcohol Use
In general, students residing in fraternity or
sorority houses engage in more risky behaviors than do those residing in other settings,
which could be attributed to cultural norms
within these organizations that promote the
consumption of alcohol (Borsari, Hustad, &
Capone, 2009). Fraternity chapter houses can
be living environments that enable alcohol
use, especially for underage college students.
Only one study has been found showing that
on-campus residents consumed more alcohol
per week than did fraternity/sorority residents
(Theall et al., 2009), though no explanation
was offered for this ﬁnding.

Academic Success
Limited research has explored the academic
success of fraternity and sorority members
as a function of their living arrangement. In
research comparing the study habits and academic performance of college men living in

THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENT HOUSING

The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 40, No. 2 & Volume 41, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 40, No. 2 & Volume 41, No. 1