Study Reveals Those Least Likely To Take Hazing Seriously

Most Adults Think Hazing Is Dangerous. So Why Do So Many Still Look the Other Way?

Every few years, a hazing death makes national headlines, and for a brief moment, the country seems to collectively agree that something has to change. Then the news cycle moves on. But a new study finds that most American adults surveyed hold a pretty firm view on the matter: hazing is dangerous, it’s serious, and it belongs in the same conversation as drunk driving or sexual assault on college campuses.

That finding, drawn from a survey of more than 400 American adults, offers a rare look at what everyday people, not just college students or Greek life insiders, actually think about hazing. And while the overall picture is encouraging for anti-hazing advocates, a closer look reveals some sharp fault lines. Men, political conservatives, and people who were hazed themselves were significantly more likely to downplay the problem or even approve of the practice.

While the study was being finalized, the University of Georgia was investigating reports that incoming freshmen had been punched and forced to drink heavily at a fraternity they were pledging, a detail the researchers themselves cited. Former President Joe Biden signed the Stop Campus Hazing Act into law in December 2024 to increase campus accountability, yet hazing continues.

Prior Hazing Research Focused on Students, Not the Broader Public

Researchers from the University of Mississippi and Austin Peay State University, writing in the journal Public Health, wanted to understand how ordinary American adults feel about hazing on college campuses. Most previous research had focused on college students, leaving a major gap: what does the broader public actually think? Adults vote, serve on juries, and raise children who will one day walk onto college campuses, and their views shape policy.

Before answering questions, participants were given a clear definition of hazing: “any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them, regardless of a person’s willingness to participate.” From there, the survey measured approval of hazing, dismissiveness of it as a non-issue, perceived harm, and whether participants viewed it as a public health concern. Researchers also included questions about attitudes toward sexual assault on campus.

Survey Drew on Over 400 Adults With and Without Personal Hazing Experience

Researchers surveyed 411 adults from across the United States, with an average age of about 46. Nearly half were men, and participants came from all four major regions of the country in proportions that roughly matched U.S. Census data. Participants also answered questions about personal hazing history, choosing from a list of 16 behaviors that included binge drinking, sleep deprivation, and being branded or tattooed.

Most Survey Participants Saw Hazing as a Serious Public Health Issue

Most adults surveyed clearly disapproved of hazing and did not consider it trivial. They strongly believed it causes real harm, both physical and emotional, and agreed it should be considered a public health issue.

Framing something as a public health issue shifts focus from individual bad actors to broader social conditions, the same reframing that changed how society treats drunk driving and addiction. Public buy-in for that framing, the researchers argue, already exists, and the passage of the Stop Campus Hazing Act, driven in part by affected families and community members, is evidence of it.

Men, Conservatives, and Previously Hazed Adults Were Most Likely to Downplay Hazing

Adults who had personally been hazed were more likely to approve of it and dismiss it as minor, and less likely to see it as a public health concern. Researchers raise a few possible explanations: some may have escaped serious injury and therefore underestimate the risk for others, while others may have mentally reframed the experience as positive to avoid acknowledging real harm. This may also reflect the cyclical nature of hazing culture, in which people who were hazed are more likely to condone it later.

Men were more tolerant of hazing than women, a pattern researchers connect to cultural pressures on men to appear tough and endure pain as proof of belonging. Political conservatives showed greater tolerance as well, a finding researchers link to previously documented associations between conservative ideology and support for social hierarchy.

Parents, younger adults, and people with more education were more likely to dismiss campus hazing concerns, though none of those groups were more likely to approve of hazing outright or to deny it causes harm. Researchers speculate this could stem from media portrayals that frame hazing as tradition or harmless initiation, narratives parents may absorb from their college-age kids or from mainstream entertainment.

Hazing Tolerance and Campus Sexual Violence Are Linked

People with more tolerant attitudes toward hazing also scored higher on measures that minimize campus rape and sexual assault, a relationship that held across all four hazing measures the researchers tested.

Both hazing and sexual violence frequently occur in the same campus environments, including fraternities and athletic programs, and both rely on cultures of silence to persist. Hazing-related deaths have increased over the past 50 years, according to research cited in the study, and federal law now requires colleges to be more transparent about incidents.

Laws alone don’t change culture, though. Bringing coaches, parents, alumni, and local leaders into prevention conversations could make a real difference, the researchers argue. Not everyone agrees hazing is a serious problem, and that gap is where the real work remains.

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Disclaimer: This article is based on a single peer-reviewed study and should not be taken as medical or legal advice. Survey-based research captures associations, not causes, and findings may not apply universally across all populations or contexts.

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