Among colleges nationwide there is an alarming relationship between membership in Greek social organizations, body image, and drinking behavior. Recent research indicates that women in sororities have higher odds of developing eating disorders and eating disorder symptoms than their non-sorority member peers. Even further, “as many as 47% of those residing in a Greek house reported themselves as heavy drinkers, compared to 14% among students at large (Haworth- Hoeppner et. al. 1989). It is clear that there is a relationship between body image disorder, drinking, and sororities; yet, this problem is much deeper than what has been found on the surface. Within any organization where there are different subgroups, there is going to be a socially determined rank of the subgroup. Some groups are going to be of higher status than others. Just as there are rankings of schools, there are rankings of sororities, or tiers. It is predicted that higher tier sorority members are going to feel more pressure to act and look a certain way. Thus, contributing to more unhealthy behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between perceived sorority ranking or tier and body image and drinking behaviors. Data for this study are being collected from a midwestern, mid sized university in an ongoing online survey. Information from this study could be used to develop interventions for sorority members.
Tiers of Influence: Perceived Sorority Rankings and their Relations with Body Image and Drinking Behaviors
Category
Psychology 2