What Effects Does Peer Pressure Have?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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What effects does peer pressure have? Negative peer pressure can also affect mental health. It can

decrease self-confidence and lead to poor academic performance, distancing from family members and friends, or an increase in depression and anxiety

. Left untreated, this could eventually lead teens to engage in self-harm or have suicidal thoughts.

What are the disadvantages of peer pressure?

  • It can cause you to lose your identity. …
  • Peer pressure can increase the risk of a mental health issue. …
  • It can change your focus on progress. …
  • Peer pressure teaches power and control in unhealthy ways. …
  • It can create harmful circumstances that impact your life in adverse ways.

What is the effect of peer group?

Peers, particularly group members, become important social referents. Peer groups also influence individual members’ attitudes and behaviours on many cultural and social issues, such as: drug use, violence, and academic achievement. and even the development and expression of prejudice.

How does peer pressure affect youth?

Negative peer pressure

can lead teens in bad directions

. It could lead them to try alcohol or drugs, skip school or engage in other poor behaviors that could put their health at risk.

What are the positive and negative effects of peer pressure?


Some people get positive influence from it whereas others tend to get negatively influenced

. An analytical approach towards peer behaviour can be positively impactful for you. On the other hand, blindly following peers and not holding an opinion of your own might leave a negative impact on your life.

Peers shape our world throughout our lives in a variety of ways but for no demographic more than adolescents.

Peer influence can dictate the colleges students attend, the risky behavior they engage in, and their academic achievement

.

Appearance-related social pressure plays an important role in the

development of a negative body image and self-esteem as well as severe mental disorders during adolescence

(e.g. eating disorders, depression).

  • Spoken Peer Pressure. This involves a person directly asking, suggesting, persuading, or otherwise directing a person to behave a certain way or take action in a specific manner. …
  • Unspoken Peer Pressure. …
  • Direct Peer Pressure. …
  • Indirect Peer Pressure. …
  • Negative/Positive Peer Pressure.
  • 2) Picking Up Healthy Habits. Fitting in feels good. …
  • 3) Sharing New Experiences. Trying new things can be hard. …
  • 4) Offering Moral Support. Adolescence can be challenging as young people try to answer huge questions, like, “Who am I?” and “Do I fit in?” Good friends support each other.

Research further states that

the presence of peer pressure is a predictor for increase stress levels, anxiety and sleep issues

. Social media adds a significant dimension to peer pressure. It means that a young person’s peer group has continuous access to them, outside of the normal school day.

Studies have shown that adolescents are more likely to take risks, such as in relation to driving, when they are with their peers, to engage in substance use when their peers also engage in such behaviour, and to be influenced by their peers’ opinions when rating the riskiness of particular situations.

In a Temple University study addressing the relationship between age and resistance to peer pressure, researchers found that

children are the most vulnerable to peer pressure between the ages of 10 and 14

.

Previous research has shown that susceptibility to social influence is at its highest in

late childhood (approximately age 8–10 years

) then gradually decreases across the adolescent years (approximately 11–18 years) and into adulthood (19 years and above; Knoll, Leung, Foulkes, & Blakemore, 2017; Knoll, Magis-Weinberg, …

  • Spoken Peer Pressure. Spoken peer pressure is when a teenager asks, suggests, persuades or otherwise directs another to engage in a specific behavior. …
  • Unspoken Peer Pressure. …
  • Direct Peer Pressure. …
  • Indirect Peer Pressure. …
  • Negative Peer Pressure. …
  • Positive Peer Pressure.

Negative peer pressure usually involves influence that sways people toward risky activity such as criminal behavior, underage drinking, drug use, and an overall unhealthy lifestyle. Positive peer pressure, on the other hand, has the opposite effect. It can prove to be beneficial.

Peer pressure

can be both pessimistic and positive

. Because if a person is a peer pressuring you for a good reason then it is vitality. Motivation is necessary for the development of a person. While peer pressure for an awful cause will always bring you to an unfortunate situation.

Carlos Perez
Author
Carlos Perez
Carlos Perez is an education expert and teacher with over 20 years of experience working with youth. He holds a degree in education and has taught in both public and private schools, as well as in community-based organizations. Carlos is passionate about empowering young people and helping them reach their full potential through education and mentorship.