Hazing Prevention Study Expands
Penn State’s Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research has expanded a national hazing prevention study to include nine more campuses. The WhatWorks study emphasizes the prevention of hazardous drinking, hazing and other resulting behaviors, with the goal of changing student, organization and campus culture.
The newest cohort includes Auburn University; Bowling Green State University; California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Mississippi State University; Virginia Tech; the University of Alabama; the University of Kentucky; the University of Missouri; and the University of Tennessee.
“This thorough volume is the result of a collaborative effort to study hazing from secondary school to higher education,” said Patrick Biddix, Professor of Higher Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “It is one of the most comprehensive research projects on hazing prevention, featuring a new definition of hazing and clinical strategies for education and prevention. The findings are influencing national prevention initiatives like the What Works study at Penn State University and are being showcased in various national workshops and presentations.”
Biddix is Jimmy and Ileen Chee Endowed Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. He is a leading authority in fraternity and sorority research. His 50 academic publications have been cited over 630 times by scholars and researchers.
“We’re glad to partner with the Piazza Center and our peers on this project, not only to participate in the development of best practices, but also to benefit from the research-driven principles identified,” said Steven Hood, vice president for student life at the University of Alabama. “Enhancing and supporting student safety and well-being are at the forefront of everything we do, so we consider this project important in forecasting the best path forward for universities like ours with robust fraternity and sorority communities.”
The WhatWorks study, a partnership with the WITH US Center for Bystander Intervention at California Polytechnic State University and the Gordie Center at the University of Virginia, is designed with top prevention and content experts from behavioral health, psychology and higher education. The study allows participating campuses to implement comprehensive hazing prevention programs. Participating institutions work with the Piazza Center and partners to test and validate effective methods of hazing prevention over a three-year assessment cycle.
“We are building campuses’ capacity to implement effective prevention that increase student safety,” said Stevan Veldkamp, executive director of Penn State’s Piazza Center, a unit in the division of Student Affairs. “The study aims to build comprehensive prevention programs and assess them with precision to ultimately eliminate life-threatening incidents.”
The WhatWorks study is being led by Robert Turrisi, professor of biobehavioral health and prevention research at Penn State. Turrisi, along with professor of higher education at the University of Tennessee Patrick Biddix, will work with each cohort member to design research-informed prevention strategies.