Exploring Relationships Between Fraternity and Sorority Membership and Socially Responsible Leadership

Membership in social fraternities and sororities provides a powerful platform for developing college students’ capacity for leadership. The existing knowledge regarding the extent to which it fulfills this goal, however, is relatively sparse. Much of the research on college student leadership relies on definitions that are inconsistent with contemporary conceptualizations. This study addresses this gap by looking at the leadership development of fraternity and sorority members using data from a national study grounded in the social change model. Results indicated fraternity and sorority members scored highest on the leadership value of commitment and lowest on the capacity to navigate change. Findings also revealed statistically significant differences across seven of eight leadership measures based on membership in sororities versus fraternities