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Attitude Changes and Self‐Perceived Skill Gains from Collegiate Greek Organization Membership *
Author(s) -
Routon P. Wesley,
Walker Jay K.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/ssqu.12310
Subject(s) - matriculation , casual , graduation (instrument) , psychology , social psychology , interpersonal communication , perception , social skills , higher education , politics , propensity score matching , matching (statistics) , interpersonal influence , legalization , political science , developmental psychology , mathematics education , economic growth , economics , statistics , geometry , mathematics , neuroscience , psychiatry , law
Objectives We examine if membership in social collegiate Greek letter organizations (college fraternities and sororities) affects students' social, political, and economic views, as well as their perceptions on what skills they gained during college tenure. Methods We use a sample of over 103,000 American undergraduate college students from 463 institutions of higher education, who were interviewed both very near matriculation and graduation, and a propensity score matching framework. Results Among our results, membership appears to alter opinions in favor of marijuana legalization, traditional gender roles in the household, casual sex, and the belief that racial discrimination is no longer a problem in the United States. Regarding self‐perceived skill change, members report relatively large premiums in leadership abilities and interpersonal skills. Conclusions Though we do uncover evidence of several effects, overall, impact magnitudes are quite small, and there are many opinions and skills for which Greeks are indistinguishable from other college graduates.