Developing romantic relationships is also a normal part of teenhood, but it can also lead to lots of peer pressure. Teens may feel pressure to do things in a romantic relationship that they are not ready for, just to prove that they care about the other person. The pressure to be in a relationship may also be significant, even if teens don’t feel ready to be in one yet. In group settings, decisions can be made together to influence the actions of others, even without explicit instructions. For instance, if a friend group decides to break curfew even without speaking the words telling each other to do so, an individual might feel pressured to follow suit and fit in.
Learn To Make Their Own Decisions
Research shows the most impressionable age for peer influence seems to be the middle school years. This is when a child is forming new friendships and choosing an identity among those friends. The early use of drugs increases the lifetime risk of developing a substance use disorder.
Helping teens deal with peer pressure
For adolescents, peer relationships are the most important of all thus leading to an increased susceptibility to peer pressure. Though peer pressure is not usually used to describe socially desirable behaviors, such as exercising or studying, peer pressure can have positive effects in some cases. It’s all about setting boundaries and making the choice for yourself, instead of which of the following is a type of indirect peer pressure? doing something because other people want you to. Negative peer pressure can enforce unhealthy habits and steer you away from your values. If peer pressure forces you to compromise your duties or beliefs, there’s a chance it’s negative. Instead of making snap decisions think through the scenario as well as the positive and negative impact each outcome can have on your life.
Social psychological explanation
This involvement can lead to exposure to role models and eventually lead to the teens becoming positive role models themselves. If a group of coworkers invites you to an event outside of work, but you don’t feel comfortable doing so, let them know without putting them down in the process. Whether it’s because your gut is telling you not to or because you just don’t want to mix work and life, make a confident choice. Of course, you probably wish all pressure from peers was positive, but the reality is that it’s not as common as the negative form.
How to help working parents navigating back-to-school
Maybe you overhear some gossip about another person, and your behavior toward them changes based on the gossip alone. Unspoken Peer Pressure — when you’re exposed to the actions of your peers and choose to follow along. Drinking alcohol to conform to belong to a group is an example of unspoken peer pressure. Being subject to peer rejection can be very painful, and a person who feels unable to tolerate rejection may find it very difficult to resist using drugs and alcohol if their peers do so. For this reason, it is important to find peers who either do not use drugs or alcohol or accept those who do not. A person may be especially vulnerable to peer pressure if they say that peer acceptance is important to them, or if they are sensitive to rejection.
For instance, if your friend is body-shaming another person, you can say, “Actually, it can be really harmful to criticize people’s bodies like that.” Have you ever been pressured to have “one more drink,” or stay out later than you said you’d be home? Peer pressure is the process by which members of the same social group influence other members to do things that they may be resistant to, or might not otherwise choose to do. Recognizing peer pressure means identifying and valuing your own strengths and decisions. Trust your instincts — you know what’s right for you more than anyone else can.
- The majority of teens with substance abuse problems began using drugs or alcohol as a result of peer pressure.
- Making healthy decisions is a crucial part of growing up to be a healthy and happy individual.
- In addition, prolonged exposure to this type of stress and tension may be a factor in mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression.
- The perception that alcohol or drug use is expected may also act as a form of peer pressure.
- Asking a teenager to engage in behavior that goes against his or her moral code or family values is a type of negative pressure.
- The same study also found that students with higher resistance to peer influence were less likely to modify their behavior to match the perceived behavior of their peers.