New research shows Greek-life students’ perceptions of their parents’ disapproval of their drinking habits can correlate to high-risk drinking behaviors.
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Young people today are less likely to consume alcohol compared to previous generations, and less likely to drink than older adults. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that 58 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 34 drink alcohol at all, compared to 62 percent of the total population.
However, binge drinking continues to be a concern among college students. According to a 2025 survey of bachelor’s degree seekers from Echelon Insights, over one-third of respondents believe drug or alcohol abuse is a major problem facing their peers.
Research from Washington State University found a connection between permissive attitudes of parents and students engaging in episodes of heavy drinking. Students involved in Greek life were also more likely to come from households that had laxer attitudes about alcohol.
The study points to an opportunity to involve parents in interventions to set guidelines around alcohol consumption.
What’s the need: Students who engage in heavy drinking are also more likely to experience poor academic outcomes, as well as physical and emotional health risks.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates that approximately 696,000 young people are assaulted every year by a peer who has been drinking, and an additional 1,500 students die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes.
Students involved in fraternities and sororities are also more likely than their peers to engage in hazardous alcohol use, including higher rates of binge drinking, according to the report.
WSU researchers sought to understand how students’ relationship with their parents and their connection to Greek organizations might influence their drinking habits and what interventions can help reduce high-risk drinking.
The study: Researchers surveyed a group of about 300 parent and student duos while the student was in high school and then in their first semester of college at an unnamed large public institution.
Parents were asked to rate how wrong they felt it would be for their child to engage in heavy drinking episodes, and students reported how they perceived their parents’ opinions of binge drinking. Students also self-reported their alcohol consumption for the past month and how often they had an excessive amount to drink—defined as four or more drinks in one sitting for women and five or more drinks for men.
The results: On average, most parents said it was “very wrong” or “wrong” for their students to engage in binge drinking while the student was in high school, which students agreed with. While parents’ disapproval of drinking dipped slightly in the first semester, students were more likely to say their parents believed binge drinking was “wrong” or “a little bit wrong” for college freshmen, showing a disconnect between parents’ actual disapproval and students’ understanding of their parents’ feelings.
Student data also affirmed past research that affiliation with a fraternity or sorority correlates with frequent alcohol use and binge drinking over the previous month.
“Although some parents may adjust their expectations as their student enters environments where alcohol use is more common, it is important to note that all participants were under the legal drinking age,” researchers added.
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Parents of Greek-life students were more likely to be permissive of drinking behaviors compared to parents of non-Greek students, even when the student was in high school. That permissiveness grew over time.
“This finding suggests that students who join fraternities and sororities come from families with more permissive attitudes toward drinking,” researchers noted, which could be a factor in the student’s decision to engage in Greek-life activities.
A possible intervention to reduce students’ risky behaviors could be programs for parents that encourage them to set clear guidelines about drinking and talk about the risks of excessive alcohol use, researchers said in a WSU press release.
Washington State already offers parents a handbook, Letting Go and Staying Connected, to help them encourage their students to develop autonomy and independence, even as they maintain an active presence in their lives.
“Even after students leave home, parents continue to play a powerful role in shaping how young adults approach drinking,” said Jennifer Duckworth, the paper’s co-author and an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development, in the press release.
