Peer Pressure

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Peer Pressure
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What is Peer Pressure?

• Peers are those who are similar and of the same
  age group
• Effect that a group of friends can exert on one
  another
• A spontaneous force on an individual, esp.
  teenagers in their adolescence
• Peer pressure is not necessarily a bad thing

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Why are teenagers so easily influenced by peers?

• Want to fit into the group
• Do not feel themselves being isolated or
  insignificant
• Do not want to be the outcast in the group
• Try to find their own identities
• Not mature enough to identify between right and
  wrong

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Negative Effects of Peer Pressure on teenagers
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Drug Abuse

• Definition Excessive use of a drug or use of a
  drug for purposes for which it was not medically
  intended
• Causes Emotional distress, anxiety, depression,
  environmental stress and peer pressure
• Consequence
• -- Drug abuse can lead to drug dependence or
  addiction.
• -- Drug dependence may also follow the use of
  drugs for physical pain relief, though this is
  rare in people without a previous history of
  addiction.

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• Peer pressure may lead to drug abuse.
• At least half of those who go on to addiction
  have depression, attention-deficit disorder,
  post-traumatic stress disorder or another
  psychological problem.

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Effects of drug abuse on teenagers

• A change in the teenagers friends, a new group
• Seclusive behavior
• Long unexplained periods away from home
• Lying
• Stealing
• Involvement with the law
• Deteriorating family relations
• Obvious intoxication (e.g., drunk) , hysterical,
  irrational, or unconscious
• Distinct changes in behavior and normal attitude
• Decreased school performance

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Discussion

• Read the news article on teenage drug abuse.
• Discuss the reasons why teenagers take drugs.
• Suggest how teenagers can refuse drug abuse
  despites peer pressure.
• Time allowed 15mins

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Teens 'fake drug-use to fit in'

• Teenagers are pretending to take drugs to look
  "cool", research has shown.

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• A report for drugs helpline Frank, said
  youngsters in the South East were more prone to
  talking up their behaviour. Figures showed that
  20 of teenagers questioned said their friends
  were pressured into faking drug-taking in order
  to fit in with their peers. The report which
  questioned more than 1,000 11 to 18-year-olds
  across the UK, also said boys were twice as
  likely as girls to pretend they took drugs.

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• Almost half the youngsters questioned said the
  need to fit in with their group dictated their
  friends' behaviour. Dr Peter Marsh, director of
  the Social Issues Research Centre and author of
  the report, said "Teenagers today learn to
  understand who they are by defining themselves
  through social bonds and affiliations with a peer
  group.

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• "As they make the hormone-laden journey from
  child to adult, they forge a personal identity by
  first creating a social identity.
• "Music tastes and appearance are the obvious ways
  to define oneself, but the ways in which young
  people talk about themselves to their peers also
  helps them to create a sense of self.

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'No fashion statement'

• "To be an individual, we first need to be one of
  the lads or lasses."
• Darren Hall, spokesman for Frank, said it was
  encouraging that while young people talked about
  drug-taking, that they were not necessarily
  experimenting with drugs themselves.
• He said "It's important to get the facts about
  drugs rather than relying on hearsay or urban
  myths.
• "Drugs can be dangerous and taking them is not a
  fashion statement."

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8 ways to say NO to Drugs

• SAYING NO THANKS
• GIVING A REASON OR EXCUSE
• BROKEN RECORD
• WALK AWAY
• CHANGE THE SUBJECT
• AVOID THE SITUATION
• COLD SHOULDER
• STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

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Smoking

• Every single day nearly 4,400 kids between the
  ages 12 and 17 start smoking
• Reasons Curious, rebellious and peer pressure

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Preventing teenage smoking,alcohol and drug
abuse

• Almost 25 of 12-17 year olds and up to 50 of
  18-25 year olds have used drugs
• Children who use drugs are more likely to
  practice unprotected sex at an earlier age, have
  low self esteem, behavior problems, school
  performance problems, and depression

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• Many adolescents practice risk taking behaviors
  as they are trying to find their own identity and
  become more independent
• Communication is essential!!!
• Teenagers whose parents talk to them regularly
  are at much less risk for experimenting with
  cigarettes, drinking and drugs
• Children are much more likely to smoke, drink
  alcohol or use drugs if they are exposed to a
  parents or other close family members who does
  too

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Bullying

• Definition
• An imbalance of strength physical or
  psychological
• A deliberate intention to hurt the other where
  the aggressive act is largely unprovoked and
• Repeated negative actions against the individual

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Four types of bullying

• Being called names
• Being picked on by other kids
• Being hit and pushed around by other kids
• Being made fun of

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Reasons

• Peer Pressure
• To show that they are in the same group by
  bullying others together
• Fear that if they do not join their peers in
  bullying, they will be the next target

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Solutions

• Tell your parents, teachers, social workers or
  reliable and mature friends
• Report to them the bullying case you see
• Choose your friends wisely

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Susceptibility to negative peer pressure
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Why are some teenagers more likely to succumb to
peer pressure of a negative kind ?

• Stage 1 begins with maladaptive parent-child
  interactions that are likely to result in
  anti-social behaviors, this has flow-on effects
  for school performances, this is also likely to
  lead to rejection by peers.
• Stage2 failure in school, individual also does
  not succeed with the peer group.
• Stage3 the failing, disliked and anti-social
  child selects those social settings that maximise
  social reinforcement, this appears to be
  exacerbated in those schools that stream
  adolescents o the basis of academic performance.

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Positive Effects of Peer Pressure on teenagers
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Introduction

• What is "positive" peer pressure?
• to conform to the expected norms of teens
• to conform to positive social expectations to
  act out

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Case Study

• A group of teens are wandering around a mall
  when one of the groups suggests them to shoplift.
  A few kids agree but most of them think that the
  idea is stupid. At the end the group decides to
  do something else.

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• reject the wishes of one of its members
• obey the social norm
• obey the law
• majority 1) not to steal
• 2) exerted peer pressure to
  others
• In this case
• peer pressure becomes positive
• stopped them from doing something that is
  illegal
• stopped them from doing something that is not
  accepted by society as a whole.

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• In fact, peer influence is
• essential to proper social development
• how we learn acceptable social norms
• how we are expected to act in the world in order
  to be good people
• However, we have to learn to tell the difference
• between
• with self-conscience
• blindly

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Positive peer pressure

• Good
• act in a generally appropriate way
• do the right thing
• do more good than harm
• does not cause you to act without consideration
• Then, peer pressure is not a bad thing

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Examples of positive peer pressure

• pressure to follow school or activity group
  rules.
• pressure to respect the property of others.
• pressure to not drink and drive.
• pressure to join a service group.
• pressure to get into college.
• pressure to stay quiet during exams,
• pressure to show up at school,
• pressure to obey laws, etc.

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Positive effect on learning

• Example Test Writing
• many rules
• lots of pressure
• not easy for everyone
• - do better than others
• - try to cheat
• - not care about the test
• testing situations go smoothly
• due to peer pressure
• cause people to "tow the line"

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Positive Effect on healthy activities

• Peers (including schools and teachers)
• encourage teenagers to involve in
• - sports activities
• - extra-curriculum activities
• help to engage in healthier activities

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How to deal with peer pressure properly?
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• Teachers efforts
• exert peer pressure
• model positive behaviors
• count on peer pressure to keep unruly kids in
  line
• nurture abilities and self-esteem
• - self-concept
• - self-worth

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• Parents efforts
• Be interested
• Confront problems
• Set boundaries
• Set rules
• Handle the conflicts
• Take a proactive approach to potentially serious
  problems and involve teenager
• help teenager evaluate each friendship

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• Teenagers efforts
• learn to differentiate between appropriate and
  inappropriate behaviors
• Remember! Most teenagers could care less whether
  you give in or not
• politely refuse
• resist the urge to preach
• do not put yourself at risk by refusing
• do not make a scene
• do not care how others think

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• Societys efforts
• Empower parents, youth organizations and
  educators
• Encourage cross-ethnic and "cross-class" peer
  interactions
• guide teenagers in dealing positively with
  cultural diversity and individual differences
• Place sensible restraints on part-time teen
  employment
• Support parent education programs for families
  with teenagers
• Establish intervention programs

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The End