Everything You Need to Know About Peer Pressure

Alloy Images - Moxie Productions / Brand 10 Pictures / Getty Images

What Is Peer Pressure?

Peer force per unit area is the influence wielded by people within the same social group. It is besides the term used to describe the effect this influence has on a person to accommodate in lodge to be accustomed past the group. Ofttimes, peers are idea of every bit friends, but peers can be anyone of a similar status, such as people who are the same age, who have the same abilities, or who share a social status.

Peer pressure is usually thought of in a negative low-cal, but in reality, information technology's non always a bad thing. Sometimes peer pressure is used to positively influence people. Learning virtually acceptable group norms can be a positive part of learning how to live with and socialize with other people.

The way your child (or you, for that affair) responds to peer pressure can indicate who they are as an private. Natural leaders tend to exist less susceptible to bad forms of peer pressure, while followers may be more inclined to go along with it.

Signs

Peer force per unit area can range from subtle to overt, which means that some forms of peer pressure can be easier to spot than others. Being able to place signs that your child is dealing with peer pressure may help you start a supportive conversation.

Some signs that your child may be experiencing peer pressure include:

• Avoiding school or other social situations
• Being very image-conscious
• Changes in behavior
• Expressing feeling like they don't fit in
• Low moods
• Making social comparisons
• Trouble sleeping
• Trying out new pilus or article of clothing styles

Many of the signs of peer pressure level can likewise be signs of other things, like bullying or mental health concerns. Whatever changes in behavior or mood are worth investigating.

Types of Peer Pressure

Nigh kids have a strong desire to fit in and are specially sensitive to existence picked on, made fun of, or ostracized. Consequently, they're often eager to do the things their peers tell them to practice.

Inquiry has drawn attending to the pregnant part of peers in influencing prosocial behaviors. When peers endorse positive and altruistic behavior, immature people are more likely to engage in those behaviors, even when their peers are non watching.

Positive Peer Pressure

Positive peer pressure is when someone's peers encourage them to do something positive or push them to grow in a beneficial way.

Here are a few examples of positive peer pressure level:

• Pushing a friend to study harder then they can get ameliorate grades
• Getting an after-schoolhouse task and convincing friends to get a chore likewise
• Saving money for a big purchase like a car and encouraging friends to do the same
• Disapproving of bigoted jokes or gossiping
• Discouraging illegal or risky behavior, similar under-historic period drinking or smoking

Negative Peer Pressure

Negative peer force per unit area, on the other paw, involves pressure to do something dangerous or damaging to themselves or others.

Hither some examples of negative peer pressure:

• Convincing a friend to skip schoolhouse
• Pushing someone to purchase due east-cigarettes online
• Pressuring a friend to potable or try drugs
• Encouraging a peer to fight or great someone

Impact of Peer Pressure

As your child grows older, their peers will play a bigger role in their life. Friends can influence everything from what kind of music they listen to, to what they article of clothing, to how they talk.

Gender socialization may influence how receptive a young person is to peer pressure. Enquiry indicates that adolescent boys are more susceptible to force per unit area for gamble-taking behaviors.

Peer pressure isn't always deviant, though. Peer pressure level can have both negative and positive impacts.

Benefits

• Communication: Friends can be a corking support as kids attempt out new things, explore new ideas, or need someone to help them piece of work through a challenging problem.
• Encouragement: Peers can push each other to do new things, like trying out for the soccer squad or the schoolhouse play.
• Friendship and support: Feeling supported by someone who accepts united states for who we are can heave self-esteem.
• Gaining new experiences: Sometimes we demand a lilliputian shove to do something we really desire to do simply don't quite have the courage.
• Modeling good examples: Friends help each other be improve people when they frown upon negative behaviors like gossiping or insensitive jokes and instead encourage positive behaviors.
• Practicing socialization: Learning virtually unlike social norms helps u.s.a. know how to adapt to different situations and determine which groups we desire to spend time with and which ones we don't.

Drawbacks

• Anxiety and low: Beingness around people who pressure u.s. to do things we aren't comfortable with tin brand us feel anxious and depressed.
• Arguments or distance from family and friends: Negative peer pressure tends to make us feel bad virtually ourselves, and this can cause u.s.a. to withdraw from people nosotros care almost.
• Distractions from academics: Peer pressure can sometimes cause us to move our focus from our priorities considering nosotros're engaged in things we wouldn't commonly practise or distracted by thoughts about peer pressure.
• Pressure to engage in risky behavior: Friends may force per unit area each other to do things like drink, try illicit drugs, engage in dangerous sexual activity, or drive recklessly.
• Problems with cocky-esteem and self-confidence: Constantly feeling pressure to do things that go against our values can make us feel bad nigh ourselves.
• Sudden changes in behavior: Trying to adapt to a peer'south norms might prompt a person start acting and looking similar someone else.
• Unhappiness with appearance: If our peers are fixating on advent, we may experience inadequate and want to alter how we wait in club to fit in.

Tips for Coping With Peer Force per unit area

It's of import to prepare for dealing with peer pressure. Existence able to spot signs of peer pressure will allow you to intervene when you recognize that your child or someone you care about is headed down an unhealthy road.

Some strategies that may be useful for helping someone cope with peer pressure might include:

• Plan alee: Have them recall about the things they might exist pressured to do that they don't want to. Programme ahead for means to deal with the pressure. Ask them to call back of how they might exit a state of affairs if it becomes uncomfortable. Identify a support person that they could call.
• Give an excuse: Have them develop a canned excuse for why they can't participate in something they don't want to practice. For instance, some families have an arrangement where if kids text their parents a sure pre-planned word or phrase, the parent volition phone call to say something has come and they need to come home.
• Build friendships with the right people: People who share your child'southward values are less likely to exist the people who will bully them into doing things they don't want to practice.
• Rely on trusted adults: Aid your child place which adults in their life are condom and accessible for when they need to talk or when they need help getting out of a tricky situation.

Talk to your kids about peer pressure. Teach your child how to say no, help them develop the skills to think independently, and encourage self-conviction. If you suspect that your child or another person that you dearest is being affected negatively by peer force per unit area, allow them know yous are someone they can trust and offering to brand a program for getting out of a bad state of affairs.

A Word From Verywell

While peer pressure level can be hard, it isn't always a bad thing. Positive peer pressure can be a valuable function of learning how to socialize and even growing as a person.

Only if you lot suspect that your kids are struggling with negative peer pressure, encourage them to talk to y'all. Sometimes kids don't desire to talk to their parents virtually peer pressure. If that'southward the case, don't take it personally. Encourage them to talk nigh information technology with another trusted developed, like a teacher, a school advisor, a doctor, or a therapist.

Thanks for your feedback!

Thank you, {{form.electronic mail}}, for signing upwards.

At that place was an fault. Please try again.

Verywell Family unit uses only loftier-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more nearly how we fact-check and go along our content authentic, reliable, and trustworthy.

1. Helfert Southward, Warschburger P. The face of appearance-related social pressure level: gender, historic period and torso mass variations in peer and parental pressure during boyhood. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2013;7:sixteen. doi:10.1186/1753-2000-7-16

2. Moksnes U.k., Espnes GA, Haugan K. Stress, sense of coherence and emotional symptoms in adolescents. Psychol Wellness. 2014;29(1):32-49. doi:10.1080/08870446.2013.822868

3. Han Southward-Y, Kim Y-H. Interpersonal rejection experiences and shame as predictors of susceptibility to peer pressure level amidst Korean children. Soc Behav Pers. 2012;40(seven):1213-1231. doi:10.2224/sbp.2012.xl.7.1213

4. Choukas-Bradley Due south, Giletta M, Cohen G, Prinstein 1000. Peer influence, peer condition, and prosocial behavior: An experimental investigation of peer socialization of adolescents' intentions to volunteer. J Youth Adolesc. 2015;44(12):2197-2210. doi:10.1007/s10964-015-0373-ii

5. McCoy S, Dimler 50, Samuels D, Natsuaki M. Adolescent susceptibility to deviant peer force per unit area: Does gender matter?. Adolesc Res Rev. 2017;4(1):59-71. doi:10.1007/s40894-017-0071-2

murphythadons.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.verywellfamily.com/negative-and-positive-peer-pressure-differences-2606643

Share this post