The Relationship between Intensity of Involvement and Community Service Engagement in the Moral Development of Student Members of Greek Organizations

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N

159

Undergraduate Students; Sororities; Moral Development; Multiple Regression Analysis; Fraternities; Student Organizations; Correlation; Social Organizations; Community Services; Extracurricular Activities; Questionnaires; Measures (Individuals); Predictor Variables

978-1-109-59081-4

Many students will choose to join a fraternity or sorority in college, yet much is still unknown about how these organizations impact student moral development. Using a correlational research design, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the intensity of involvement of undergraduate students in social Greek organizations with the duration of time spent engaged in community service activities on their moral reasoning abilities. Greek student involvement level was assessed using an abbreviated version of the Extracurricular Involvement Inventory. For the service measure, students were asked to estimate the amount of community service they had performed during the previous semester. Moral development served as the dependent variable and was determined using the Defining Issues Test. Sophomore Greek students (N = 98) from a large public university in the southeastern United States completed three research instruments and a demographic questionnaire. Pearson correlation analyses revealed that there was not a significant (p = 0.354) relationship between involvement intensity and moral reasoning development. There was also no significant (p = 0.720) relationship found between community service participation and moral reasoning development. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that involvement intensity, service participation, gender, and parents' highest level of education did not predict moral reasoning development. Importance of the study and implications for future research and policy are also discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

As Provided

2012

ED527615