A Descriptive Study on the Prevalence of Gambling Among Members of Greek-Letter Organizations In the University of the Philippines Manila

Abstract

The present study determined the prevalence of gambling among Greek- affiliated students of the University of the Philippines Manila. 116 respondents who are Greek- affiliated (members Alpha Sigma, Sigma Kappa Pi, Upsilon Sigma Phi, Alpha Phi Omega, Pi Sigma, and Tau Omega Mu fraternity and their respective sororities) participated in the study. A survey questionnaire gathering the respondents’ socio-economic and demographic profile, as well as gambling participation history was utilized in the study. The researcher also developed a Likert Scale, which included 6 items measuring gambling prevalence and 29 items measuring gambling behavior and attitudes. Results showed that there was low prevalence of gambling among Greek- affiliated students. Also, none of the respondents were at risk for probable problem and pathological gambling. This indicates that Greek- letter organizations do not necessarily influence their members to gamble. Thus, the presence of fraternity brothers or sorority sisters does not affect an individual’s gambling participation. Data gathered also indicated that the presence of friends, family members, and significant others (boyfriend/ girlfriend) also influence the respondents’ gambling participation more than their fraternity brothers/ sorority sisters. Recommendations were made to help eliminate the common negative connotation of fraternities and sororities in the university, and to explain the positive effects of Greek- affiliation and their role in the society. The researcher also suggested that future studies should include correlations in order to determine the relationship between gambling and other different factors.