A Brief Note On Peer Pressure Among Adolescents

If someone asked you to jump off a bridge with two of your friends, would you do it? Peer pressure is defined by social pressure from members of one's peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values, or otherwise conform in order to be accepted. There are many types of peer pressure; a common one is group pressure.

Peer pressure is the influence a peer group has on its members to fit into a particular way of thinking and behaving. When children are very young the major influences in their lives are their family and caregivers. Behaviour, attitudes and expectations in young children are learned from the modelling of others. This is the way we all learn, first from caregivers and then we include our peers when we start school and attend any activity away from family. Our Peers have a considerable influence on our behaviour and outlook on life as we all learn together. Youth spend large amounts of time with Peers, who are learning about themselves as they grow up.

“Don’t let anyone hold you back. Don’t let anyone dilute you. Don’t be peer pressured into being less than you are” (Steve Maraboli). This quote means that negative peer pressure can result in an individual acting out and behaving in a manner that is a downgrade from the person that is true to society. Often time, the community imagines peer pressure as teens influencing one another to experiment with drugs, alcohol, and sexual intercourse. But really all peer pressure is, is the encouragement of changing values and behaviors of an individual. Peer pressure can either be negative or positive depending on the situation a person is in and how strong the character of the individual is. Though peer pressure is often used in negative instances, it can also be thought of as positive for teens, because it allows a student to have a clear mental mindset, strong encouragement to work hard in school, and become a leader in an environment.

There are different types of peer pressure that can affect you. Peer pressure can affect you directly, indirectly, or individually. Being told to do something by another person or group is an example of direct peer pressure. Direct peer pressure is bad since you are put on the spot and don’t want to feel left out so you might be pressured to say yes. Seeing other peers or groups doing something and you wanting to do the same thing to fit in is an example of indirect peer pressure. For example, if you have a different group of friends that does or doesn’t drink and you only drink with the friends who drink. Indirect peer pressure causes you to be do things only with certain

By definition, peer pressure is described as social pressure by members of one’s peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values, or otherwise confirm in order to be accepted. Considering peer pressure is something that everyone experiences, whether they wish to admit it or not, there are numerous definitions for it; especially since it affects everyone so differently.

Peer pressure is being influenced by a group of people to do something that one would not do otherwise. Teens between the ages of twelve and seventeen were given a survey and ninety percent of them said they have given in to peer pressure and twenty eight percent of them feel as if it helped their social standing. These teens are not the only ones who give into peer pressure, many adults do too. Crank, Lord of the Flies, and Always Running are pieces of literature that show different situations in which one can give into peer pressure.

Some teenagers go through a depression stage with confusion and loneliness, some even consider harming themselves or taking drugs to cope with the depression. Some teenagers go through a period of stupid, reckless behavior. Some teenagers go through a period when drug addiction overrules their lives. When teens get peer pressured into taking drugs they think it will be cool, but throughout their addictive period they get involved with bad people. Research has shown that it take about 11 seconds after a teen takes a drug and they can be addicted. Teenagers have very high chances of addiction. Young people grasp things very quickly and can easily get addicted to things quicker, because their minds are constantly growing and it speeds up their learning process. According to the article, "Experts Link Brains' Immaturity, Juvenile Crime", Juveniles are more vulnerable and susceptible to negative influences and outside pressures, including peer pressure. This peer pressure often comes from a persons closest friends. During the development of a teen brain it matures and grows. People overcome challenges in adulthood by remembering choices they made during their teenage years and what those choices led them

Adolescent substance abuse is a major problem in society. There are many risk factors that can contribute to adolescent substance abuse. One of the main risk factors is peer pressure. When adolescents start at a young age there is an increase in health problems, addiction, and over all poor social outcomes. Parental influence has substantial effect on adolescents because the adolescent sees their parents and they learn by their example. Media plays a role in the use of drug and alcohol use among young people. Many school systems have implemented programs that teach adolescents about the problems of substance abuse that is funded

Peer pressure is a major contributor to the deviant behavior of alcohol and drug use in young members of our society. Dealing with this peer pressure is a fact that I, and most teenagers must sometimes face. As I have matured, I have come across challenging decisions, and peer pressure plays a factor when people my own age try to influence my decisions. Peer pressure is a major excuse as to why teens experiment with drinking, and the use of alcohol by underage adolescents is deviant behavior. This use goes against the norms of society and its effects can be extremely negative.

Drug use is an increasing problem among teenagers in today's high schools. Most drug use begins in the teenage years, these years are the most crucial in the maturing process. During these years adolescents are faced with the difficult tasks of discovering their self identity, clarifying their sexual roles, assenting independence, learning to cope with authority figures and searching for goals that would give their lives meaning. Drugs are readily available, adolescents are curious and venerable, and there is peer pressure to experiment, and there is a temptation to escape from conflicts. The use of drugs by teenagers is the result of a combination of factors such as peer pressure, curiosity, and

Growing up children will experience some form of peer pressure at some point in their live.Peer pressure is defined as the control and influence teenagers have over each other. Peer pressure can occur in many kinds of relationships. Becoming a member of a peer group is one of the immediate effects becoming a teenager.. Peer groups influence teenage society and identity by allowing young people to explore individual interests while retaining a sense of belonging and status within a group of friends.

There are two reasons that a teenager may turn to drugs. The first is peer pressure. A teenager may be following the advice of his peers. Everyone is influenced by the people that are around them. If a teenager’s peers are encouraging him to try drugs, he is more inclined to experiment with the drug in order to fit in with the crowd.

There are 3 different types of peer pressure, the first one is direct. Direct peer pressure is when other teenagers pressure an individual into making a choice. The second type is indirect peer pressure, which is when a teenager is exposed to something negative like smoking, but they aren't directly told to participate. The last type is individual, which is when an individual feels the

Peers are important for the development of adolescents. As they continue to mature, adolescents have different targets for intimacy than when they were younger. The time of interaction between adolescents and their parents is lower compared to the time the adolescents spend with their friends and peers. They are even more likely to befriend those of the opposite sex. However, with peers inevitably there is peer pressure. Peer pressure has adopted a negative connotation, especially when it relates to adolescents. It may lead an adolescent towards positive outcomes or negative outcomes depending on the type of peer pressure. So, the understanding of peer pressure and its effects on adolescents is vital.

There are various cause and effects of peer pressure. Peer pressure is pressure or influence from a person’s peers. Peers are often described people of the same age group or social group. Peers will feel the need to be in control and will often surround themselves with weak-minded or people with low self-esteem to have the do their bidding. The causes of peer pressure include the need to fit in, low self-esteem, fear of rejection, and at most time the need to feel safety and security from peers. The effects of peer pressure can be negative and also have the worst outcomes.