Influence Of Peer Pressure On Adolescent Alcoholism

Risk factors such as sex, race, and grades are also discussed and linked with increased drinking. The social aspects of drinking, such as peer pressure and ones perceived image of themselves are discussed as well, along with student opinions on why they think other students drink.

One risk factor of binge drinking is the alcohol use of peers, and being peer pressured into consuming high amounts of alcohol. As claimed by DrinkWise (2017), peer pressure can lead individuals, especially teenagers to do things that they usually wouldn’t do, and stop them from doing something they would want to do. Peer pressure can confront the individual’s views and morals of what is right and wrong. This is significantly evident in the youth when alcohol is involved, which is due to young people wanting to have a sense of belonging, and wanting to be liked and accepted by their peers. Therefore falling into the pressure of binge drinking in order to fit in with the people around themselves that like to binge

Peer pressure influences teenagers to drink. Teenagers will drink because they want to look cool or fit in with the cool people. Like if they go to a party they will drink to be like everyone else. Laurie Halse Anderson the author of “Speak” is saying that peer pressure can make you do insane things. So don’t hang out with people that will force you to perform something you don’t want to do. If you achieve it you can become a negative person and face consequences.

Those opposed to these views argue that developmental studies generally pinpoint peer pressure to pre and early adolescents, thus older children are not subject to this pressure, and this is not a cause of underage drinking. However, peer pressure is not the issue. These children are not forced into drinking by their peers. They simply correlate drinking with acceptance, thus they drink to be accepted. Many experts view drinking as a natural occurrence for children, they state, "They [children] are simply testing their limits" (Benenson 36). If this is how our children view alcohol, they are viewing it in all the wrong ways. We must help them understand that alcohol will not help them 'fit in,' it will only hurt them much sooner than later.

Even though risky behavior and peer pressure can have a variety of different meanings for people, typically, it is a relation to drugs or alcohol. Most of the time, it seems that the most well-known types of peer pressure come from friends partaking in a substance such as drugs or alcohol and trying to persuade someone else in the group. According to the article “Peer pressure and risk-taking behaviors in children” by Lewis and Lewis (1984), peer pressure is a major factor in the development of risk-taking behaviors such as alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. (Lewis & Lewis, 1984) Not only are these risk-taking behaviors prevalent throughout life, but most specifically throughout college. In their book Monitoring the future national survey results on drug use Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, and Schulenberg (2009), all suggest that the biggest difference between college students and their non-college peers is largely due to the environment at college. (Johnston et al., 2009)

Samantha, who use to be a teenage alcoholic, states “When I was 13, friends would make fun of me if I didn’t have a drink. I just gave in because it was easier to join the crowd” (The Truth about Alcohol). Millions of teenagers drink because they don’t want to be considered a “loser” or be made fun of for not drinking. Samantha said they think it's easier to drink and follow the crowd then do what they know is right. This is peer pressure, their peers make them feel bad about not choosing to drink, eventually forcing them to drink. Underage people are bullied everyday until they have a drink. As a teenager they are still trying to figure out who they are, they're trying so hard to fit in. Teens just want to be liked by whoever, that's what makes it so hard for them to say “no”. Even when they say “no” they tend to get laughed at or even humiliated, they may be rejected by the people who they want to be friends with, and they get bullied. Even saying “no” to alcohol doesn’t seem like such a good idea to a teen when they know what the consequences could be (10 reasons teens abuse alcohol or drugs). Influence by other people is another big reason that teens drink. Teens think that alcohol makes it easier for them to socialize. Teens drink because of who their friends are, if their friends drink or party then they’re more likely to drink

Those in favor of lowering the drinking age also claim that social norms play a major role in perception of alcohol, which is believe to end in the justification of binge drinking. Key social constraints such as community acceptance and perceived influence of the political power of the alcohol industry that work to divert attention from commercial sources of alcohol for those that are underage. Other social aspects of the cultural and policy environment in communities affect the issue of alcohol use in youth. Exposure to billboards, magazines, and

3. Social Factors: Factors related to culture, family, religion, and work may influence drinking behavior. People who were exposed to alcohol abuse during their childhood have higher tendency to adopt the habit. Peer pressure from higher education level, such as in college, makes students susceptible to

Social influences include low socio-economic status of the individual, low levels of parental guidance and education, family or domestic issues at home, presence of a history of alcoholism in the family, lack of rules on alcohol use in the family setting and peer pressure.

Every problem has a beginning, where the domino effect starts. In most cases people get started drinking not because they like it, but because it is illegal and it gives them a chance to rebel. The so-called “rebel” becomes bored of drinking alone and eventually seeks “company” when they are drinking. The only catch is that the “rebel” can not be the only one drinking so the “company” has to drink. This is where the problem with peer pressure and teenage drinking begins and the first domino starts the chain reaction. There are two types of peer pressure. There is direct peer pressure where a subject’s peers actually force him into having a drink. There is also indirect peer pressure where the subject enters a setting and his peers are drinking so he decides to have a drink to fit in with the rest of his peers (Articles-Teenage Drinking 2). Surveys show that alcohol abuse is related to teenage activities such as going on dates and going to parties (Teenage Alcohol Misuse 2).

In study after study, peer pressure is associated in adolescents of all ethnic and racial backgrounds with at-risk behaviors such as cigarette smoking, truancy, drug use, sexual activity, fighting, shoplifting, and daredevil stunts. Again, peer group values and attitudes influence more strongly than do family values the level of teenage alcohol use. The more accepting peers are of risky behavior, and the more they participate in that behavior, the more likely a person is to do the same thing.

Social and cultural factors play roles in to establishing drinking patterns and the development of alcoholism. In some cultures, there is conflict between abstaining and accepting the use of alcohol as a way to change moods or to be social, thus making it difficult for some people to develop stable attitudes about and moderate patterns of drinking. Society tends to aid in the development of alcoholism by making alcohol seem glamorous, showing that by drinking, you will become more popular, more glamorous and more worthy of respects from others.

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.

In society today, people tend to make decisions based on the actions and choices of others. Peer pressure is a very real issue that affects most of the teenagers of the world today. it is a dangerous form of persuasion. It causes teenagers to easily succumb to unethical activities under the influence and pressure of their friends. people see the effects of

Teenagers face many difficult decisions in their lives and have many people in their lives that influence them. One of the major groups that influence teens is their peer group. “Since teenagers are not yet comfortable with themselves, they have a strong need to be accepted by their peers. And to be accepted, they feel they have to be just like their peers” (Ruth Maxwell, p. 24). From Maxwell we learn that teenagers will use alcohol to be accepted by a group. As age progresses the number of alcohol users progress 73 percent of kids that are from the ages of 16-18 are drinkers. In addition, around 90 percent of high school seniors have experienced alcohol at least once in their life.