Colleges and universities have long considered hazing to be a problem, and they have worked hard to prevent it. This study reveals that our challenge is much greater than anyone appreciated. The problem of student hazing is common in athletics. The numbers are alarming. Most students in the U.S. are involved in high school sports, and a quarter of them are being hazed.
Initiation rituals extend beyond high school sports, however.
Many more students are involved in church groups than in fraternities or sororities. Based on that, we project approximately 237,000 high school students are being hazed to join a church group each year. That's substantially higher than the number hazed to join a high school fraternity or sorority, which is approximately 155,000 each year. Bringing Awareness Both female and male students report high levels of hazing, although male students are at highest risk, especially for dangerous hazing, the study says. The Alfred University study, based on questionnaires filled out by more than 1,500 students, found that 25 percent of those who reported being hazed said they were first subjected to hazing before the age of 13.