Counseling Center

University of Maryland

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BEYOND APPEARANCES: AN EMPIRICAL APPROACH TO CHALLENGING THE NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES OF SORORITY WOMEN

Susan S. Gerson and William E. Sedlacek

Research Report # 2-91

Summary

The relationship between self concept and sorority membership was studied to detect differences between sorority women and nonaffiliated women of freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior status. A random sample of sorority women and non-affiliated women living in residence halls were given the Self Description Questionnaire III. A two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) (class status X member/non-member) was conducted for each of the thirteen self concept scales. Results indicated that sorority women scored higher than non-sorority women on six of the self concept subscales: general self concept, opposite sex relations, verbal, parent relations, same sex relations, and physical ability self concept. These differences are in areas that are relevant to college success and retention. These findings suggest that participation in a sorority may not be the negative influence on students that has been indicated in recent studies.

Past research concerning Greek organizations has focused primarily on negative aspects of Greek life and differences between Greeks and independents, pitting one lifestyle against the other. Research topics have included: differences in the financial, social, and family backgrounds of Greeks versus non-Greeks (Miller, 1970; Peterson, Altbach, Skinner, & Trainor, 1976), whether Greek values conflict with university values (Strange, 1986), and drinking and hazing habits of Greeks (Larrabee, 1990; Hunnicutt, Davis, & Fletcher, 1991).

Greek organizations are experiencing a rebirth in college communities, and with this growth they are receiving increased scrutiny and criticism from college administrators (Strange, 1986). As students' interests have shifted toward more conservative pursuits., fraternities and sororities seem to match student needs better than the unaffiliated lifestyle popular in the unconventional college environments of the 1960's and 1970's.

It is becoming increasing clear that Greek organizations have established themselves as a permanent part of college life. The influence of peers has been shown to be the primary influence of young adults as they adjust to the requirements of the college (Erikson, 1974). It is therefore worthwhile to focus research efforts on gaining a better understanding of the relationship between the "Greek" lifestyle and the college student experience.

Two earlier studies have explored positive aspects of fraternity membership. Knox (1971) assessed general self concept

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with the Tennessee Self Concept Scale and found that fraternity members had higher self concepts than those of their non-fraternity peers. Milani (1979) also used the Tennessee Self Concept Scale and found differences in self concept for two groups. Fraternity members had higher self concepts than independents, differences for both groups according to class membership were found, and there was a significant interaction between fraternity membership and class membership. These studies suggest that lifestyle differences somehow relate to differences in self concept.

The limited research on the self concept of Greeks versus independents has focused primarily on men. Research apparently has not been conducted to determine if college womens' self concepts are similarly related to Greek membership. Wiley's (1979) extensive review of the self concept literature reveals no difference between male and female self concept in many cases. However, the literature is noticeably lacking in the area of college student self concept.

The goal of this research is to further the study of self concept and the Greek lifestyle with a specific focus on college women. The relationship between self concept and sorority membership will be studied to detect differences between sorority women and non-affiliated women of freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior status.

Method

The Self Description Questionnaire (SDQ) III is a measure of

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self concept in college students. Data indicate that it may be more reliable and valid than earlier measures of the self concept (Marsh and O'Neill, 1984). Thirteen separate self concept dimensions were identified including general self concept, peer relations, math self concept, and verbal self concept. This measure is currently one of the few measures that is geared specifically for college student populations.

A random sample of sorority women and non-affiliated women living in residence halls were given the SDQ III. Residence hall women completed the SDQ III along with other survey materials distributed by residence hall directors as part of an annual data collection effort (n=288). Participants were given a free pass to the student union movie theater. Four randomly selected sororities were chosen to participate. For each sorority, the SDQ III was administered by the author at the start of a weekly chapter meeting that requires mandatory attendance (n=194). All women attending the meetings voluntarily agreed to complete the measure.

A two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) (class status X member/non-member) was conducted for the thirteen self concept scales.

Results

A greater number of non-members than members were in the final sample (288 non-members, 194 members). To control for variability due to unequal cell size, the variables were entered into the MANOVA equations in both orders.

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General results of the analyses run indicate that member/nonmember was a significant variable (p < .05), but class status was not, and there was no interaction effect found between these two variables.

Sorority women differed from non-sorority women on six of the self concept subscales: general self concept, opposite sex relations, verbal, parent relations, same sex relations, and physical abilities self concept. On all of these scales, sorority women were found to have higher self concepts than their nonsorority peers (see Table 1).

[Insert Table 1 about here]

Discussion

The results of this study indicate that sorority members have higher self concepts than non-members in six areas including general self concept.

Verbal Self Concept

Verbal self concept is one of the areas in which sorority members scored higher than non-members. Achievement in subjects requiring strong language arts skills is highly correlated with a high verbal self concept on the SDQ III (Marsh & O'Neill, 1984). Therefore, there is reason to believe that sorority women will be likely to succeed in verbally-oriented academic areas. This may shed new light on research that has implied that Greek lifestyles are in conflict with the goals of the university (Strange, 1986).

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Parent Relations

Higher self concepts in this area positively correlate with satisfaction with the home environment and strong parent interest in the student's schoolwork. Additionally, Marsh and O'Neill (1984) have found increased ratings of enjoyment in some academic subjects for students who score higher in this area. These results therefore provide further support for the prediction that sorority women are likely to be successful university students.

Social Relations

The results on the subscales of opposite sex, same sex, and physical appearance can be grouped together for the purpose of discussing their impact on college life. These three areas encompass feelings about one's ability to interact with peers and about one's overall physical appearance. Members of the sorority sample scored higher on these three dimensions of the SDQ III than their non-affiliated peers. In the college lifestyle, particularly for students living on campus, social relationships become an integral part of the college experience. Higher self efficacy in the realm of social relations may therefore relate to a successful college experience in general.

Future directions

The results of this study suggest that the historically negative focus on the Greek lifestyle on college campuses should be replaced with an empirically based approach designed to assess both strengths and growth areas. In this study, it was found that

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References

Erikson, E. (1974). Childhood and society. New York: W. W. Norton.

Hunnicutt, D. M., Davis, J. L., & Fletcher, J. (1991). Preventing alcohol abuse in the greek system on a commuter campus: Prevention

contracts. NASPA Journal, 28, 179-184.

Knox, W. H. (1971). A comparative study of fraternity and nonfraternity members on selected personality variables. Dissertation Abstracts

International, 32, S-A.

Larrabee, J. (September, 1990). Fraternities try to shed 'animal house' image. USA Today, p.8A.

Marsh, H. W., & O'Neill, R. (1984). Self Description Questionnaire III (SDQ III): The construct validity of multidimensional self-concept

ratings by late-adolescents. Journal of Educational Measurement, 21, 153-174.

Milani, T. E. (1979). A study of the relationship between membership in men's general fraternities and the development of self concept.

Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Pittsburgh, PA.

Miller, L. (1970). Distinctive characteristics of freshman fraternity members at a large urban private university. Dissertation Abstracts

International, 32, 1-A.

Peterson, H. L., Altbach, P. G., Skinner, E., & Trainor, K. (1976). A greek revival: Sorority pledges at a large

university. Journal of College Student Personnel, 17, 109-115.

Table 1: Means and Standard Deviations of Sorority and Non-Affiliated Women on the Self Description Questionnaire III
Scale	Sorority Women		Non-Affiliated Women
	Mean	SD	Mean	SD
Mathematics	43.96	18.46	46.08	19
Religion/Spiritual Values	59.93	16.59	59.49	15.65
General Self	79.22*	12.31	75.20*	14.44
Honesty/Trustworthiness	75.25	9.34	72.96	10.13
Opposite Sex Relations	61.70*	11.47	58.85*	12.57
Verbal	60.85*	10.23	57.64*	10.94
Emotional Stability	49.77	13.17	48.54	12.7
Parent Relations	65.79*	10.82	59.92*	13.08
Academic	58.45	10.72	58.37	10.69
Problem Solving	53.49	10.17	53.85	9.88
Physical Appearance	54.14	10.99	52.69	11.72
Same Sex Relations	62.87*	8.48	58.77*	9.97
Physical Abilities	58.19*	15.6	54.11*	16.03

*Differences between means significant beyond the .05 level