An Exploration of the Sexual Orientation and Educational Outcomes of Undergraduate Fraternity Members

Previous research found an unwelcoming environment may hinder the identity development of college students. Furthermore, studies revealed gay, bisexual, and questioning (GBQ) students may encounter a hostile environment in college fraternities. This influenced the researcher to question if fraternities are as effective in producing educational gains for GBQ members as for heterosexual members. In the present study, the researcher sampled 286 GBQ and 286 heterosexual fraternity members from the aggregate results of the campuses that used the AFA/EBI Fraternity/Sorority Assessment in 2009 or 2010. The researcher conducted rank-based analyses of variance to assess the differences in personal gains, alcohol use, leadership experience, and satisfaction of fraternity members by sexual orientation. Results revealed heterosexual fraternity members reported greater gains as a result of their fraternity experience for the majority of the personal gains measures. There were no differences in alcohol use, leadership experience, and satisfaction of fraternity members by sexual orientation