The Psychology of Hazing

 

Our mission is to provide methods of prevention and intervention in hazing; to explain the psychology of hazing in high school, college, the military, and the workplace.

 
 

What is hazing?

Hazing is often about group dynamics, power and proving one’s worthiness. Hazing is often part of initiation rituals, however hazing may continue after the formal initiation period. Groups sometimes use hazing to mark special occasions, such as birthdays. In general, hazing is integrated into the culture of the group.

Where does hazing occur?

Hazing occurs in middle school and high schools, as well as in colleges, the military and on the job. It occurs all over the United States and throughout the world. Hazing occurs in locations that are poorly supervised, or completely unsupervised by authorities.

Who is involved in hazing? 

All kinds of people are hazed, and all kinds of people haze others. Hazing is not a function of race, or socioeconomic class. Hazing occurs among people of all educational levels.

 

When does hazing happen?

Hazing occurs throughout the year, though there is often an increase at the beginning of the fall and spring semester and at the beginning of all athletic seasons.

Why do people haze?

There are many complex psychological reasons, however most people who have been hazed believe they have a right and duty to do unto others what was done to them. Check out “The Blueprint of Hazing” to understand why hazing has continued since ancient times.

What’s New in Hazing?

 

Female Deaths

More female students are dying due to hazing. Victims are not only dying on the couches of fraternity houses. Students of all ethnicity are dying due to negligence-physical pain and psychological suffering. Young women, Asian, Afro-American and others are dead due to the hazing traditions in their sororities.

 

Legal Loopholes

Greek organizations are renaming hazing rituals and elongating the hazing process, in order to skirt the legal definitions used by colleges and states. For example, they will initiate new members in a shorter period of time, but continue to haze them even after they have been identified as “full members.” In this way, the groups claim that the rituals were not hazing, and/or not illegal according to the letter of the law.

 

Sexualized Hazing

Hazing continues to incorporate sexualized events. From a psychological perspective, using sexualized hazing is the quickest method of humiliating a student. It immediately demonstrates the hierarchy and makes the victim feel completely helpless.

Dr. Susan Lipkins

Psychologist | Expert Witness
Author of: Preventing Hazing: How Parents, Teachers and Coaches Can Stop the Violence, Harassment and Humiliation

516-521-2518
drlipkins@gmail.com

Dr. Lipkins is a psychologist who is a pioneer in the area of hazing, bullying and harassment. Her interest started with a sexualized hazing ritual on a nearby high school football team.

Dr. Lipkins is also an expert witness for cases involving hazing and bullying. Hazing victims and their families usually bring a lawsuit when the damages have been physically and/or psychologically harmful in significant ways.

Dr. Lipkins specializes in campus conflict and violence in high schools and colleges.

She has appeared on television as an expert in hazing and bullying more than 100 times, and has been seen on CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, ESPN, SKYTV. In addition, she has been quoted and published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Washington Post, The Daily News, as well as many other magazines, and publications worldwide.

Read More

Dr. Lipkins in the News

Oprah, ESPN, Dr. Phil, Katie, and more...

The hazing incident that erased a prestigious Queen’s Commerce club

Commerce clubs are rife with hazing, but are a ‘gateway entry’ to prestigious jobs

The Queens University Journal • January 19, 2024

'They really hurt this young man' | Former UT Austin student sues fraternity over injuries

The lawsuit's plaintiff claims several members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon injured him in an attack that took place last year.

KVUE Dallas • February 22, 2024

Long Island high school cancels boys' varsity soccer season due to off-campus hazing

The district superintendent told the community the team culture cannot be accepted.

CBS NEWS • August 15, 2023

The SERMAPod Ep. 42 | The Psychology of Sports Hazing

SERMA fonder and CEO Rich Lenkov is joined by psychologist Dr. Susan Lipkins for a discussion on this history of sports hazing, why it continues, its effects on victims, and steps coaches and players can take to stop this culture.

Aug 31, 2023

Experts comment on short- and long-term impacts of hazing

evanstonroundtable.com • October 13, 2023

The dangers of hazing and how to protect your kids: Experts weigh in

In light of the hazing lawsuits that have rocked the athletics department at Northwestern University, WBBM's Rob Hart asked three experts for the best ways parents can keep their kids safe.

WBBM News Radio • August 22, 2023

End hazing where it often starts — in high school sports

Take a lesson from the Northwestern scandal: Every coach, school administrator and district superintendent must make sure no student-athlete becomes a victim of hazing.

Chicago Sun Times Editorial Board • August 5, 2023


Expert weighs in on hazing, impact on victims

The Paducah Sun • July 30, 2023

Hazing still ingrained in team sports, with sexualized attacks increasing

Associated Press
July 20, 2023

Susan Lipkins, a psychologist and researcher who studies hazing, said she believes incidents have increased in "frequency and severity, and in sexuality."

Northwestern College had many anti-hazing instruments in place earlier than the soccer scandal. So what went flawed?

Chicago Tribune
July 20, 2023

Victims could be afraid to come back ahead as a result of they face ostracism, disbelief or retaliation; typically those that had been hazed gained’t acknowledge that the behaviors or remedy amounted to hazing, stated Susan Lipkins, a New York-based psychologist and professional witness in hazing lawsuits.

Chicago Tribune • Jul 12, 2023

Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald suspended after hazing investigation

Northwestern University officials say they are taking action after claims of hazing. The claims were largely supported by people involved in the Wildcats football program made at the end of the 2022 season.

What parents can do to protect their children from devastating effects of hazing

ABC Eyewitness News 13
July 24, 2023

The hazing allegations inside the Northwestern football program frame up a conversation parents need to have with their children.

Dr. Susan Lipkins is a nationally recognized authority on hazing, and she told ABC13 the problem isn't going away.

 

Sports Hazing Expert Dr. Susan Lipkins on SXM MDSR's Sports Sunday w/ Lance Medow

 

Why do we still see hazing?
WGN Radio - Jul 16, 2023

Dr. Susan Lipkins joins Karen Conti to discuss the psychology of hazing, what leads to it happening, and why it is still a problem today.

What Really Happened at Northwestern?

Psychiatrist Dr. Susan Lipkins joins Marc to dig deep into the hazing allegations at Northwestern University.

July 10, 2023

Hear Dr. Lipkins interviewed in Part 2: The Line

Roughhousing is a new narrative series examining hazing culture in high school sports today. Host Iggy Monda takes listeners inside locker rooms to hear deeply personal stories from kids who have been hazed, parents who have fought for accountability, people who have hazed others, and coaches who are afraid of what their players might do when they’re not looking. Ultimately, he asks why hazing is so ingrained in American culture and what it says about us.

 
 

Hazing is a dangerous, but deeply-embedded part of fraternity life.

Following the tragic hazing deaths of students like Penn State's Tim Piazza, states are finally beginning to change their laws against it. Communities and college campuses across the country are now questioning how and why hazing still exists, especially when its damaging implications span well beyond the frat house.

 
 

The Washington Post
School system attorney: Attack by broomstick-wielding football players charged with rape didn’t constitute sexual assault

“Sodomy occurs in many boys’ teams and is favored because it is the quickest way to completely humiliate a victim,” said Susan Lipkins, a psychologist and author of the book “Preventing Hazing: How Parents, Teachers, and Coaches Can Stop the Violence, Harassment, and Humiliation.” “There is no escape, and the victims’ own sexual identity is often questioned.”
August 13, 2021

 

Pennlive.com
Middletown football videos shine harsh light on sexualized hazing, ‘quickest way to completely humiliate’: experts

It was a “clear” incident of “sexualized hazing”, according to a psychologist interviewed by PennLive who specializes in high school violence. She said the incident indicated planning, and possibly reflected a team tradition.

“They made it incredibly clear what their intention was,” said Susan Lipkins, author of the book “Preventing Hazing: How Parents, Teachers, and Coaches Can Stop the Violence, Harassment, and Humiliation.” “This was not spontaneous.”

August 22, 2022

 

Purchase The Book Now!

Preventing Hazing: How Parents, Teachers, and Coaches Can Stop the Violence, Harassment, and Humiliation. Written by Dr. Susan Lipkins, Psychologist and Expert Witness

Written with clarity and passion, Preventing Hazing uncovers the deep roots of hazing, how and why it permeates schools, colleges, and communities, and what parents, teachers, and coaches can do to prevent it.

 

"Author Susan Lipkins has written a long-needed book that takes parents, educators, and other interested readers into the minds of hazer and hazed alike. Highly recommended and most readable."


— Hank Nuwer, Author, Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing

"This book is phenomenal!...how to deal with a hazing situation, support the hazer, victim, and bystander, and how as a community to prevent the hazing from occurring."


— B. Elliot Hopkins, CAA, director, educational services, National Federation of State High School Associations

"As a parent of a hazing victim, I had many questions after my son’s incident. Preventing Hazing not only answers the many questions but also gives hope for a positive future."


— Karen Savoy, Executive Director, Mothers Against School Hazing (MASH)