Frat Bros Are Basically Immune to Alcohol Interventions, Says Study

Photo by Jamie Lee Curtis Taete

Mix some ritual hazing, protein powder, and the entire cinematic oeuvre of National Lampoon together, and you'll get something pretty close to an iconic frat bro. But for all the pranks and togas and shitty relationships with women, no single thing fully encapsulates the image of the frat guy like the never-ending stream of booze they seem to consume. They love it, they live for it, and—according to a new study—they are powerless against it.

The research—which analyzed 15 studies and combed through data from 6,000 fraternity and sorority members—suggests that frat bros drink so goddamn much not necessarily because they want to, but because they've evolved into intervention-immune mutants who can't un-peer pressure themselves into making solid decisions.

Researchers at Brown University and the Miriam Hospital in Rhode Island concluded that members of fraternities are deeply adverse to both alcohol education and intervention because some members "view alcohol use as a means to achieve their social and sexual goals."

The researchers also found the length of interventions had little to do with the end results—actually, the shorter they are and the more they challenge students' social expectations around drinking, the better.

"Reducing alcohol consumption and problems among fraternity and sorority members will require a different strategy relative to their college drinking peers," author of the study, Lori A. J. Scott-Sheldon said in a press release. "Additional research is needed to determine the best approach to reduce alcohol misuse among members of Greek letter organizations."

Basically, the frats win this one.