Category: Peer pressure

Introduction

Parents all over the world face pressure to control their teenage sons and daughters. They are crying for help to save their wards from the peer pressures. As soon as the children leave their school and step into high school they find themselves in a kind of glamour world. They intend to perform some odd jobs just because either their friends are doing it or it becomes a matter of showing self standard. Among these are the vices of taking up smoking and alcohol. This mainly happens especially when it is a matter of showing off in front of peers. In order to keep up with this trend students become rebellious and their parents feel helpless. Thus, the cause lies in responding to peer pressure by creating an identity in front of the peer group and the effect is the inclination towards various vices during teens. (Hill, 89)

Discussion

The first step to drugs is a very common symptom of this issue. This may lead to addiction and ending up into rehabilitation center. It is impossible to idealize what peer pressure can make one perform. Different criminal activities or teen sexual acts are common outcomes of this pressure. The cause of this peer pressure starts with the search of self-identity and it lies in the path of development of self-belief. Once a teen is out of the emotional and physical shelter of the parents it becomes obvious that there waits a competitive world to face and environment of high school provides the first step of this outer world. Under such conditions, it becomes necessary to make a mark of ones existence in the real world, in front of the peer group and to oneself at the same time.

However, the best and easy way in this tough world, or in the peer group, is to prove oneself as a rebellious teen. Sure, being an exceptional student is always a better choice any day, anywhere. Nevertheless, to achieve this goal needs a hard and arduous schedule to follow and the result is not quick either. Thus, to achieve importance in the peer group it needs rebellious image. Creating a tough image is the best and the easiest way out. (Brown, 7) It is a common practice in Oxford for the new students to attend drinking parties in local pubs. It is an act of binge drinking that is supposed to be proof of toughness in front of peers and worthy of the admission in the student community. (Hill, 104)

Conclusion

In order to create a tough and rebellious image the elements needed are always wrong. These are smoking and alcohol, drugs and teen sexual activities. Sure, most of the time the peer group is directly not putting the pressure on the student or handing out a well formulated manifesto with lists of vices to be followed but simple gestures with indication of the student being a good but boring fellow makes the student afraid of identity crisis or popularity loss. (Hill, 103) Both of these elements are fearful to a student and thus the student feels that in order to be recognized it is important to indulge in activities related to smoking and alcohol, drugs and teen sexual acts. Thus, it is quite obvious that if the elements of peer pressure are taken into consideration as the cause then the indulgence into these vices are the effects of this cause.

Works Cited

Brown, B. The cultural context of family-peer linkages in adolescence. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development 27.116 (2007): 1-15.

Hill, Martha S. Timing of childhood events and early-adult household formation. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development 19.71 (2001): 87-109.

Every single person has experienced peer pressure in their lives. Every single person has experienced peer pressure in their lives. Social life implies regular communication with various people that may impose their views on somebody. Such a contradiction between ones own beliefs and the communitys values may affect a person rather harshly. The desire to conform does not make it easier for the person to blend in if the societal values do not resonate with their own. The individual beliefs often go in contrast with the societal standards which can cause the rejection or contempt by the community. The peer pressure of various characteristics due to the communitys contradicting desire can lead to moral decay or psychological illness in a person.

People of all ages are subjected to peer pressure; it happens not only in childhood but also in adulthood. Children are the most susceptible to it because of the forming identity and relationships. The main character in Salvation by Hughes was only twelve when he faced peer pressure to convert and join Jesus in a church. He could not handle the pressure and cried at night because of his disturbed morality as he could not bear to tell her that he had lied and did not see Jesus (2). The outcome of this decision was his hopelessness and belief that there was a Jesus anymore caused by the church congregations provocation (Hughes 2). Adults appear to be less influenced by their peers due to formed personality and consciousness, but the character of Orwells novel still silently suffered after killing the elephant. He experienced a complex societal dilemma when the boy realized his role in imperial society and the natives expectations towards a white person.

It may as well be spoken or unspoken, direct or indirect. The boy was affected by both types, but his peers spoken commentary on the bench influenced him the most. The boys perception was significantly affected because of the one-to-one environment, where the recipient is the most perspective. The praying group around him also gradually increased the tension and pressure. The dilemma the man faced inside his head, on the contrary, was unspoken. He did not specifically get the order to kill, nor the crowd told him, but he felt the pressure. The man realized that the action he took would significantly alter the societal opinion of him as he felt the unspoken crowds desire. Either way, peer pressure puts a person in a position of deciding on the spot. Indirect peer pressure is more subtle, like killing an elephant when the character saw the excited faces in the crowd as he was aiming the gun and felt a strong influence towards obeying their will.

Peer pressure does not necessarily have to negative; it can also promote positive action. The man experienced negative peer pressure, having to kill an elephant. The boy, on the other hand, was forced to engage in a somewhat positive activity. However, he did not seem to enjoy joining the prayers and his salvation at all. It turned out to be a painful experience causing a complete loss of faith. It appears that no matter what sort of activity a person is prompt into doing, it may still largely contradict a persons values and beliefs. Such an action can cause pain and even lead to trauma. The man who was forced to kill an elephant felt a strong contradiction between his own desire and the crowds desire, which confused him. He disregarded his own belief that it would be murder to shoot him (Orwell 3) and suffered by watching an elephant die. He did not cry and looked rather indifferent than the boy, but he also suffered as he betrayed his principles and morality.

Peer pressure is inevitable as we live in society where every community and group of people have their own beliefs. It helps to maintain societal order but is often dismissive of individual struggles. Imposing these beliefs may often be rather aggressive and cause a person to suffer. Unfortunately, there is no power over societys values as it is the majority. However, we have the power of what to do about these standards. The choice and responsibility of a decision we make under pressure still depends on us.

Works Cited

Hughes, Langston. Salvation. The Big Sea: An Autobiography. 2nd ed., Hill and Wang, 1993, pp. 18-21.

Orwell, George. Shooting an Elephant. Penguin Books, 2009.

‘’Peer pressure is stress of strain you feel from friends and school mates to act , behave , think and look a certain way. This kind of pressure can cover anything from fashion through sex and dating,’’ (Goldsmith)

Changes are the significant part of our lifes .Everyone in this world wants a change in something .A life without a change becomes boring and mainstream which ultimately makes one’s life dull and pathetic .Sometimes the changes we make in our lifes makes it more beautiful .The topic I selected to pen down is “THE CHANGE I WANT TO MAKE” and I want to eliminate the vastly growing negative peer pressure in our society .

Peer pressure is a real issue that is affecting many of the teenagers .Society is offering a lot of misleading guidelines that are leading the teens in wrong directions .”If the youth of today are more educated, the future of our world will be a lot better off(Dobson). There are a lot of pressures that our teenagers are facing in today’s world ,like smoking, drinking, having involved in sexual activities even when you are not enough grown up to do so .It can lead one person to bad deeds and thinking therefore it is really important to be aware of this problem and save one from its bad influence .”Sometimes others put the pressure on you to participate in something you might not want to do(Hayes)”.

Teenagers of today are facing a lot of tensions that can have a very strong impact on their decision making .Many the times these decisions are negative ones, which may include consumption of drugs ,alcohol ,sex ,violence or just a desire to fit in the society . Peer pressure has very harmful effects on ones mind .It can cause high depression , high level of stress ,inappropriate behaviours etc .It is the influence provided by ones own peer group .This includes influencing other to drink, smoke, lying, etc .

There are several types of peer pressure which includes: “This includes Insults : making a person feel bad for not doing something, so that eventually they will. Rejection : pressure by threatening to end a relationship or a friendship. Unspoken pressure : simply seeing all your peers doing something or wearing something can be a form of pressure. Lastly, Insults : making a person feel bad for not doing something, so that they eventually will.(SafeTeens3)

It is not an issue which can’t be get rid of instead we should know the appropriate tactics to deal with it. I want people to get awareness of this huge problem which is destroying our youth. We should give our children the following knowledge at their primary level so that they can easily pass through it without getting affected.

When faced with such indirect pressure to do something you’re not sure about, try using the following strategies: Permit yourself in ignoring people or situations that don’t feel right, and avoid uncomfortable situations. Set your boundaries. It’s right for you to do what is in best interest of you.

Keep check of yourself. Ask yourself, ‘How do I feel about this?’ ‘Is this right for me?’ ‘What are pros and cons of certain decisions?’ Unhealthy dynamics should be recognized: It’s not acceptable to get pressurized, forced or tricked into doing things you don’t find appropriate or get threatened if you don’t give in. It’s not right to get mocked, belittled or shamed by others for your choices and decisions. Put full stop to these behaviors, or you can make a choice to avoid company of such people.

Invest your time in people who respect your choices and won’t pressurize you to conform. Remember your worth and you are not duty bound to please everyone or get liked by everyone. It is difficult to accept, but it helps to try.

When it’s hard to avoid people or situations that pressured you, practice the ‘delay tactics’: Take time to ponder upon your decisions instead of hustling in giving answer: ‘Let me think about that’,’ Can I have a moment “or ‘Can I get back to you in an hour’. When a pressure- filled situation is unavoidable or can’t be delayed, then gather courage to say ‘No thanks’ or just ‘No!’ If you feel uncomfortable in saying ‘no’, try other responses, for instance ‘Not now’, ‘ Maybe some other time’ or ‘ Thanks, but not today’.

It’s OK to put an excuse to challenging truth. For instance, if you are offered a drink by someone and you hesitate in saying no, then excuse of being on medication or have an early appointment the next day. Take a help from a supportive friend in a pressure-filled situation and tell them about your intentions (e.g., ‘ I don’t like drinking, so if you ever see me about to, give me a reminder to stay sober’).

Take a stand for others when you see them getting pressured. ‘Bystander intervention’ (jumping in to help someone when you see them in trouble) can be an effective way to be supportive towards others. If you feel uncomfortable in directly confronting the person who is pressuring, then try distracting them or invite the person getting pressured into doing something else (e.g., Hey, let’s go to ladies room “or ‘Let’s go and take a selfie somewhere’).

Seek support or advice from parents or other family members, a mentor or a counselor if you require it.

• We should “LEARN TO SAY NO” .We should immediately push back the person who tries to drag us into something terrible. We must possess the courage to say no to anything wrong that can negatively affect us .We should “FOLLOW OUR HEART BUT TAKE OUR BRAINS WITH US” .We should not blindly follow someone even if they are our loved ones rather we should use our own mind and think first whether it is right or wrong.
• We should “ALWAYS SEEK HELP FROM OUR GROWN UPS” .We should ask our elders before doing something. They have more knowledge of this world and can guide through such situations. We should hesitate to ask our grownups even if it feels odd , at the end their knowledge is more and can guide us well. Most importantly we should “BUILD THE SELF CONFIDENCE IN OURSELVES”. We must believe that whatever we our doing is right. We shouldn’t assume ourselves wrong and some else right. We must have enough confidence to do what we believe in.
• We need to “MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER WE ARE DOING IS OUR OWN CHOICE” .We should always do what we think is right, not the one which some other person thinks for us is right. We should “ACT COOL WHEN SOMEONE IS PRESSURIZING YOU”. We should listen to what the person around us wants us to do even if they threaten us, but we should always keep our calm and self-control and follow our own decisions.

Conclusion

We are not obliged to fulfill someone’s request. We can’t get rid of peer pressure completely but we can eliminate most of it by changing the way we our doing things. If this issue is resolved then most of our teenagers would have a better and happy life. We can also promote positive peer pressure but it is up to us in which direction we lead our society.

The Study was conducted to find the effect of Emotional Maturity on Academic stress, Peer Pressure and Social Competence. The sample included 209 students studying in II PU. Emotional Maturity Scale by Singh and Bhargava (1991), Peer Pressure Scale by Singh and Saini (2010), Student’s Stress Scale by Akhtar (2011) and Social Competence Scale by Sharma and Rani (2013) was used to collect the data. The results of the study indicates that the sample of the study was found to be Extremely Emotionally Immature, above average level of Academic Stress, moderate levels of Social Competence and higher level of Peer Pressure. Emotional Maturity was found to facilitate handling Academic Stress and Social Competence and doesn’t facilitate handling Peer Pressure among adolescents.

Introduction

Adolescents’ are characterized by heightened Emotionality, which may be the result of physical, psychological or environmental causes, which leads to upset homeostasis, predisposes them to accidents, decreases mental efficiency (memory, concentration and reasoning), increases rigidity, narrows the perceptual field and decreases ability to respond to environment clues, affects school work and social adjustment.

Adolescence is the time of rapid social development as adolescents are able to identify themselves by interacting with others. Peer group is the adolescent’s real word and it provides a stage for new experimentation. Peer group members who are presumably their equals formulate, evaluate and modify the self-concept of adolescents. Social competence is the amalgam of social, emotional and cognitive skills and behaviours that one needs to have for a sound social adaptation. Peer group provides a different world to get socialized with the value set by others who are of same age but not by the adults. Academic Stress has become the integral part of Adolescent’s academic life due to the expectations placed upon them by self, parents as well as teachers. Adolescents’ in particularly are more vulnerable to the problems associated with Academic Stress, as adolescence is the transitional period.

Review of Literature

Kaur (2018) conducted a study to understand the relationship between Social Competence and Emotional Maturity among adolescents. Sample of the study included 100 students randomly drawn from government and private senior secondary schools of Mohali. The findings revealed that Emotionally Mature adolescents’ had more Social Competence and vice-versa. There was no significant gender difference in Social Competence and Emotional Maturity among adolescents and Type of School (Government and private) had no impact on both the variables.

Deb (1985) conducted a study to explore the personality variables associated with adjustment. The study was conducted on Females (aged 18–20 years) attending 1st-yr degree classes at a college in Calcutta, India. Results indicate that Emotional Maturity, extroversion, self-assurance, self-confidence, sociability, and achievement motivation were significantly associated with different dimensions of adjustment.

Sharma (2012) conducted a comparative study on college adjustment processes and Emotional Maturity between first and final year Female students enrolled in different undergraduate courses offered by colleges affiliated with University of Rajasthan in Jaipur city. Data was collected using Adjustment Inventory for College Students and Emotional Maturity Scale (Singh & Bhargava, 1991). Results indicated that the first year undergraduate students were less emotionally mature, and had difficulty in adjusting emotionally and socially to the changing demands of the environment and faced more academic difficulty as compared to final year students. The final year students were more socially adjusted and more integrated into the social fabric of the college

Methodology

Aim

To study the effect of Emotional Maturity on Academic Stress, Peer Pressure and Social Competence among Adolescents.

Hypotheses

1. Emotional Maturity facilitates handling Academic Stress among Adolescents.
2. Emotional Maturity facilitates handling Peer Pressure among Adolescents.
3. Emotional Maturity facilitates Social Competence among Adolescents.

Emotional Maturity was assessed using Emotional Maturity Scale developed by Singh and Bhargava (1991) according to which scores ranging from 107-204 indicates extreme emotional immaturity and scores ranging from 50-80 indicates extreme Emotional Maturity. The mean score obtained by the sample was found to be 113.59 with a standard deviation of 23.71. Referring to the norms, the obtained mean score indicates that the sample was found to be Extremely Emotionally Immature. The result of the present study is in accordance with study on adolescents by Subbarayan and Visvanathan (2011) who found a higher degree of Immaturity among adolescents.

Academic Stress is a demand related to academics that tax or exceed the available resources (internal or external) as cognitively appraised by the student involved. Academic Stress was assessed using Students Stress Scale developed by Akhtar (2011). High score on this test means high stress and low score means low stress. In the absence of norms for Academic Stress scale, level of Academic Stress was considered based on the theoretical range i.e the minimum possible score is 51 and the maximum possible score is 255. The mean score obtained by the sample was found to be 161.29 with the standard deviation of 22.52. The obtained mean score indicates that the sample had above average level of Academic Stress.

Peer Pressure was assessed using Peer Pressure Scale developed by Singh and Saini (2010). Based on the norms given by the authors, scores ranging from 72 and above indicate high Peer Pressure and scores ranging from 55 and below indicate low Peer Pressure. The obtained mean score of the sample was found to be 71.74 which is closer to higher level of Peer Pressure (72) with the standard deviation of 12.79. The obtained mean score of the sample was found to be closer to higher level of Peer Pressure (72). Hence, the obtained mean score can be interpreted as high level of Peer Pressure.

Social Competence was assessed using Social Competency Scale developed by Sharma and Rani (2013). Based on the norms given by the authors, scores ranging from 168-188 indicates very good Social Competency and scores ranging from 47-77 indicates very poor Social Competency. The obtained mean score of the sample was found to be 134.78 with the standard deviation of 11.46. Referring to the norms the obtained mean score indicate that adolescents of the present study had average level of Social Competence.

Hypothesis 1

Adolescence being the stage of emotional turbulence, level of Emotional Maturity was perceived to influence the intensity of Academic Stress experienced by adolescence. Thus in the present study the researcher adopts directional hypothesis that “Emotional Maturity facilitates handling Academic Stress among Adolescents” is tested by computing F-ratio.

There were 14 respondents with relatively high Emotional Maturity had mean Academic Stress of 144.21with a standard deviation of 27.20, there were 77 respondents with moderate Emotional Maturity had mean Academic Stress score of 155.35 with a standard deviation of 21.22 and 118 respondents had low Emotional Maturity had mean Academic Stress score of 167.19 with a standard deviation of 20.83. Respondents with relatively high Emotional Maturity were found to have low Academic Stress level when compared to the respondents with relative low Emotional Maturity. However the degree of individual differences in terms of S.D is found to be more among participants with high Emotional Maturity compared to moderate and low Emotionally Mature participants. The observed difference in the mean score of Academic Stress among the three groups is further tested for its statistical significance using F-test and the obtained F-ratio of 11.86 is found to be significant at 0.01level. Thus the hypothesis 1 which states that “Emotional Maturity facilitates handling Academic Stress among Adolescents” is accepted. However, on the contrary study conducted by Pastey and Aminbhavi (2006) show an opposite finding in relation to present study and study by Rosa and Preethi (2012) have found a negligible relationship between Emotional Maturity and Academic Stress.

The primary reason of the finding of the present study is as follows. Respondents with low Emotional Maturity have high level of Academic Stress as they have reported that they are more worried about future, have an inferiority feeling, being lost in day dreaming and being submissive etc., (cited from responses to Emotional Maturity Scale items)

Academic problems of Adolescents’ include homework, lack of time, inability to concentrate, memory problems, difficulty in subjects, examination anxiety, fear of failure, getting up early in the morning, pressure to study, concentrating for longer college hours, financial issue (Latha & Reddy, 2006; Patel, et.al., 2007). Academic requirement is one of the most important and frequently reported causes for stress among students of all age groups. Further, in the context of Indian education system +2 is one of the most important stage as further academic and vocational progress found to be contingent upon the performance during this stage. Hence, this stage is found to be more prone to Academic Stress (Latha & Reddy, 2006). In addition, higher level of Academic Stress could be due to an abrupt change from school, high expectations of teachers and parents, forming and finding new friends etc.

The stressors among students include the physical and psychological changes, life events (Isakson & Jarvis, 1999) along with the day to day stressors such as conflicts in relationships, academic requirements and daily hassles (Sim, 2000. as cited in Manjula, 2016). Connor-Smith, et.al., (2000) found that among the daily hassles, Academic Stress is the most frequently reported factor contributing to distress among the college students. Adolescents with good skills in regulating emotions tend to experience less Academic Stress (Akgun & Ciarrochi, 2003) and thus did not get adversely impacted by the Academic Stress. Based on the above research evidences the finding of the present study is justified.

Hypothesis 2

Adolescence is a period of emotional turbulence. One of the major forces that lead to either conformity or non-conformity is influenced by the degree of Peer Pressure the individual has. This tends to depend on social needs of the individual concerned. Hence in the present study researcher adopts directional hypothesis stating that “Emotional Maturity facilitates handling Peer Pressure among Adolescents” is tested by computing F-ratio.

The level of Peer Pressure among three subgroups of Emotional Maturity. There were 14 respondents with relatively high Emotional Maturity had a mean Peer Pressure score of 68.93 with a standard deviation of 12.77, there were 77 respondents with relatively moderate Emotional Maturity had a mean Peer Pressure score of 72.51 with a standard deviation of 13.41 and 118 respondents had relatively low Emotional Maturity had a mean Peer Pressure score of 71.58 with a standard deviation of 12.43. Respondents with relatively high Emotional Maturity were found to have low Peer Pressure when compared to the respondents with low Emotional Maturity. However the degree of individual differences in terms of S.D is found to be more among participants with moderate Emotional Maturity compared to participants with high and low Emotionally Mature participants. The observed difference in the mean score of Peer Pressure among the three groups is further tested using F-test and the obtained F-ratio of .48 is found to be not significant. Thus the hypothesis 2 which states that “Emotional Maturity facilitates handling Peer Pressure among Adolescents” is rejected. The reasons for the observed contrary results are as follows. Adolescence is characterised by emotional ups and downs, but how well an individual becomes emotionally mature depends up on the nature of emotional experiences one experiences by the peer group. The study conducted by Lashbrook (2000) revealed that Adolescents who experience emotions like ridicule, rejection, humiliation tend to be more Emotionally Mature, hence it is hypothesised that Emotional Maturity facilitates handling Peer Pressure among Adolescents. However, the Peer Pressure Scale gives a measure of susceptibility for Peer Pressure rather than impact of Peer Pressure resulting in rejection of the hypothesis. Though the obtained F-ratio is not statistically significant, it is clear that the subgroup of the sample having high Emotional Maturity found to have low Peer Pressure compared to the other two groups. Components of Emotional Maturity such as being determined, having strong will power, having mental balance would have contributed to handle Peer Pressure among participants with high Emotional Maturity.

Hypothesis 3

Social adjustment is one of the difficult developmental tasks during adolescence, especially with regard to forming new relationship with opposite gender, adults outside the family and in new academic environment (Santrock, 2008). One needs to have control over their emotional expressions to adapt to new social environment. Thus in the present study researcher adopts the directional hypothesis that “Emotional Maturity facilitates Social Competence among Adolescents”, is tested by computing F-ratio.

There were 14 respondents with relatively high Emotional Maturity had mean Social Competence score of 140.86 with a standard deviation of 16.58, there were 77 respondents with relatively moderate Emotional Maturity had a mean Social Competence score of 136.97 with a standard deviation of 12.06 and 118 respondents had relatively low Emotional Maturity had mean Social Competence score of 132.63 with a standard deviation of 9.82. Respondents with relatively high Emotional Maturity were found to have high Social Competence when compared to the respondents with low Emotional Maturity. However the degree of individual differences in terms of S.D is found to be more among participants with high Emotional Maturity compared to moderate and low Emotionally Mature participants. The observed difference in the mean score of Social Competence among the three groups was further tested using F-test and the obtained F-ratio of 5.7 is found to be significant at 0.01level. Thus the hypothesis 3 which states that “Emotional Maturity facilitates Social Competence among Adolescents” is accepted. The obtained results are in accordance with the previous research findings (Kaur, 2018)

Conclusions

The sample of the study was found to be Extremely Emotionally Immature. The sample of the study was found to have above average level of Academic Stress. The sample of the study was found to have moderate levels of Social Competence. The sample of the study was found to have higher level of Peer Pressure.

Hypothesis 1 which states that “Emotional Maturity facilitates handling Academic Stress among Adolescents” was accepted. Hypothesis 2 which states that “Emotional Maturity facilitates handling Peer Pressure among adolescents” was rejected. Hypothesis 3 which states that “Emotional Maturity facilitates Social Competence among Adolescents” was accepted.

Introduction

There can be instances when you feel you’re being pressured to do things you’re uncomfortable with. For such instances, you should be stern and know what is right and what is not. Some teens and adults are desperate to fit in the group even if it includes unfair practices, but you should 2/11/2020 reading time: 6minutes

know the difference between fitting in and spoiling yourself and you are smart enough to know what you should do in such cases. There can be strong cases that your friends are making fun of you for not doing the things they are doing but there are things you can do to avoid it. It’s difficult to deal with such situations but there are personal ethics that should be followed. So let’s know more about it below!

But first, you must WANT to avoid it. In case you are getting encouraged to do such things, you have to stop hanging out with that group immediately. There’s no other option for this, but if you want to handle the peer pressure this post is for you!

AVOID WEIRD TALKS

Peer pressure could be of many types. You should be ready for everything coming towards you. It’s okay to say NO! Permit yourself to say no, don’t think much whilst doing this. You can have many ways to say no such as “no thanks”, “I think I’ll pass”, “I don’t do this”, “maybe another time”. Understand where the talk is going. These things always have a way out of sight for coming. When you know about this try to change the topic or immediately take a leave saying you have some urgent work.

SELF REALISATION

Ask yourself questions like “is it good for me?”, “is it ethical?”, “How will my parents react?” etc. As you get answers to these you’ll know what to do. It’s the worst if you do things which make you feel uncomfortable and one day will come if you start with this practice you’ll be miserable. And at that time it’ll be difficult for you and your family to get out of this. The regression phase after these things are depressing and for that matter, it’s best to not put yourself in such things.

CHOOSE BETTER FRIENDS

You will suddenly know when you’re feeling uncomfortable that’s the time to change yourself and your group! Changing your group will surely give you positivity and make you feel secured. Again, I know it might be difficult but you’ll find it difficult for a month or two but then you will be just fine. Find yourself a group having common interests and the ones respecting and accepting your decisions. This will help you to feel better every day.

GET BUSY

Changing your group might be stressful so engage yourself in sports such as basketball, cricket, volleyball, baseball, football, badminton, etc. or start writing journals, short stories, day to day activities, etc.

RELIABLE FRIEND OR FAMILY

Talk to your most trusted friend or family, maybe even a senior. The suggestion they’ll give will be the best for you. Trust them and don’t hide anything. You will start feeling light instantly and will be energetic again detaining the stress out of your life.

BLAME THE PARENTS

If you’re being forced to do anything just say “my parents won’t allow this” or “they didn’t teach me this”. Your parents are your safeguard in every situation, in this one too! Most people don’t say anything further after this and if they do you automatically know they don’t respect your decision and it’s a wise time to make a move.

ACCEPT THE MISTAKES

It’s okay to make mistakes. Make it very clear in your mind that even if you did something you shouldn’t blame yourself but don’t spoil or depress yourself because of this. Instead, deal with it and pledge not to do it ever.

TAKE STAND

Not just for you but for each and every person you see is getting bullied because of peer pressure. Supporting in such a situation can be the best you could do for someone because it’s one of the weakest times in someone’s life and people lead to self-harm in such cases. Take a stand as if it were for you, and never be judgemental in any case!

People have different beliefs and it’s not the matter to bully someone.

SUMMARY

In the end, I would conclude things are avoidable but you should agree to. Easily you can change your company, be with the supporting ones, let yourself be happy and positive. You’ll have the brightest future ahead.

Research Question

How different types of pressure can affect peer risk-taking on a fictional young male driver’s estimated speeding behavior and estimated intention to speed?

Hypotheses

• Passive peer pressure would lead to a greater estimated speeding behavior of the scenario driver (ESBSD) and estimated intention to speed of the scenario driver (ESISD) than active pressure.
• High-risk-taking peers would have a higher estimated ESBSD and ESISD.
• Passive peer pressure with high risk-taking peers would have the highest ESBSD and ESISD than active pressure.

Theoretical Framework

Peer presence had resulted that there was a negative effect on young drivers’ driving behavior such as being out of focus, drunk driving, speeding, and breaking the traffic rules which might cause accidents and injuries. However, some had found that dangerous driving behaviors can be stopped by the passengers too. Young drivers can be disturbed by peer presence while driving in three different ways.

First, peer presence can lead to an increment of the driver’s cognitive workload by chit-chatting. This can divert the driver’s attention and cause him or her to make mistakes like unintentionally ignoring traffic rules while driving.

It can also lead to traffic violations. This is because the driver wants to prove to the peers that he or she can do risky behaviors too. When a social identity represents the basis of self-conception, people are high to be influenced by their peers since the actions acknowledged by the peer group are outstanding. If the peer risk-taking level as a whole group is high, it will be high as an individual in the group as well, and it is related to car crashes.

Besides, peer passengers can push the drivers to disobey traffic rules by persuading them to do a risky action that has not been done before. However, there were studies showing that drivers still would not change their behaviors in the future even though the behavioral change was achieved. Allen and Brown (2008) found out that peers can change the driver’s behavior with two types of influence, which were proximal influence and distal influence. Proximal influence is about passengers interrupting the driving actively. Distal influence happens outside of the driving environment and includes negotiation of approved driving behaviors and patterns. It also assumes the negotiation while peer risk-taking is based on subtle influence, relying on the highlight of risk-taking norms rather than on the negotiation. Therefore, peer risk-taking increases the chance of drivers’ risk-taking behavior.

Method

Participants

The participants involved in this study were 180 young French drivers ranging from 18 to 25 years old with a mean age of 22.10 years and an equal amount for both genders. They have had their driving licenses for at most seven years with a mean of 2.67 years and a standard deviation of 1.78. They drove almost a maximum of 700,000km ever since with a mean of 30,156km and a standard deviation of 10,000km. 69.4% have driven less than 10,000km in the past year, and 20% among them only had a car crash once in the past 3 years. 17.2% of the 69.4% of 180 participants had lost a maximum of 8 points on their licenses with a mean of 2.48 and a standard deviation of 1.83. This was due to speeding which occupied 25 to 30 cases.

Measurement of variables

Most of the variables were measured by using 5-point Likert scales except for measuring estimated speeding behavior. The scales ranged from one, which was not at all, to five or also known as completely. The single average scores for scales that had multiple items would be calculated as well. Certain variables like peer risk-taking and peer pressure type had manipulated. Peer risk-taking was manipulated by giving details on speeding behavior by the peers while the type of peer pressure was manipulated by approving the driver to speed, no matter if it was voiced out or not. Question examples were ‘In your opinion, at what speed will Mark, the driver in the scenario, choose to drive in this situation?’, which was used to measure estimated speeding behavior, ‘Will Mark, the driver in the scenario, have the intention to exceed the speed limit?’ for estimated speeding intention, ‘In your opinion, did Mark’s passengers try to change his driving behavior?’ for measuring peer pressure, ‘In your opinion, do Mark’s passengers take risks when driving?’ which was for measurement of peer risk-taking, and ‘In your opinion, are Mark and his passengers’ close friends?’ for group identification.

Data collection procedure

Six conditions were allocated by the participants that were high risk-taking (HI-R) direct active pressure which was high risk-taking peers supported the driver to speed through talking, HI-R indirect active pressure which was high-risk takers talked about another driver who sped, HI-R passive pressure where high risk-taking peers supported speeding without saying anything, low risk-taking (LO-R) direct active pressure which represented low-risk takers approved speeding through words, LO-R indirect active pressure where low risk taking peers shared a story about other drivers with speeding behavior, and LO-R passive pressure which was about low-risk takers’ silent approval on speeding. 30 participants with equal amounts for both genders were placed in each condition.

Participants were asked to estimate the speed the driver in the scenario was most likely to exceed to measure estimated speeding behavior. To measure estimated speeding intention, they assessed if the driver had the intention to exceed the speed limit and estimated if the driver will continue to drive at 90 km/h. To analyze the manipulations’ effectiveness, they were asked to determine if the peers had tried to give the driver stress and made the driver change the driving speed, and passengers’ risk-taking level, and if the passengers and driver had formed a group for peer pressure measurement. They were also asked to assess whether the peers and the driver were in the same group, had similar interests and personalities, spent time together often, and became good friends for perceived group identification. They judged the level of risk-taking regarding speed limits and traffic rules as well.

Findings and Conclusions

Results have stated that participants had analyzed that the peers had pressured the driver. Participants in the high-risk-taking group considered that their peers took more risks while driving than the low-risk-taking group and that the drivers and passengers were in a group. Participants had also estimated that the driver would have the intention to exceed the speed limit and speed. Researchers also found that ESBSD correlated with estimated ESISD and peer pressure while ESISD correlated with peer pressure and group identification.

The first hypothesis was met as results had shown that pressure type had a common effect on ESBSD. However, there was a difference between different pressure types. Active pressure greatly influenced the drivers rather than the passive pressure. Besides, the estimation of speed intention had no change in behavior, and therefore speeding seems to be a voluntary action.

The second hypothesis was not totally met. Effect on ESISD was found that a higher risk-taking level would have higher ESISD but not ESBSD due to the reason that peer risk-taking was not really taken into account and therefore lesser impact on the behavior. Interactions with high-risk-taking peers seem to have a huge and lasting impact on speeding. Young drivers usually find their own identity in driving after having a license. In the meanwhile, they can be influenced and change their behavior through social learning easily. The more they are revealed to dangerous driving behavior by their peers, the more and quicker they will adapt to it.

Unfortunately, the third hypothesis was not met at all as the study unexpectedly found out that active pressure yielded a higher level of estimated speeding behavior instead of passive pressure. It could be because the driver who the participants estimated was a fictional main character and anonymous to them, so the participants probably did not have a hard time estimating.

The most unexpected and surprising finding was that there was no difference between both genders. It opposed our general knowledge of women are more careful than men when it comes to driving. This could be due to gender expectations of men are more likely to drive dangerously, so female participants could have overestimated the speed and intention to meet this expectation.

Practical Implications

The results of this study are useful for preventing speeding. To reduce the peer presence effect, the transportation department should enforce new traffic rules and regulations such as limiting the number of passengers in a car and reducing the speed limit. Police should have a spot check regularly in different areas too. Penalties such as fines, imprisonment, or revocation should be given if the driver is caught breaking the rules.

Safety talks and campaigns should be organized for all young drivers. During the campaigns, certain topics like peer presence, dangerous driving behaviors, traffic laws, and even consequences of offense should be explained then instill the drivers with good driving skills and teach them the skills of resisting peer presence. Driving learners should also be informed about the different negative influences of peers during their driving lessons.

Future Research

In the future, other risky driving behaviors like drinking, crossing the red light, and not wearing seatbelts should also take into account as well as this study only considers speeding as the only variable that affects driving behavior. Researchers should examine if peer presence has the same impact on those other hazardous driving behaviors as speeding by using a similar approach as this study. Future studies should look into other factors that may cause risky driving behavior such as personality. Researchers can investigate if a driver will engage in dangerous driving actions or not due to the reason that he or she has an aggressive personality.

The phrase “Time and tide wait for none” is very well known, and the future of an individual depends on the correct use of time, hence time should always be valued. But there are a few people who like to do things on its latest possible time and like to indulge in more pleasurable things than to complete the intended task in a scheduled manner, such people are known to be “Procrastinators”. Procrastinators are those people who like to procrastinate things. Procrastination is an act of postponing and shifting the deadlines of the completion of the tasks to the later stage and rather than using the time for task completion the individual wastes time on the things which are more fun. Procrastination can have adverse effects on an individual’s life and in some cases it can be good as well.

The article titled “Academic Stress Predicted by Academic Procrastination among Young Adults: Moderating Role of Peer Influence Resistance” focuses on how academic procrastination relates to academic stress and to peer influence resistance. According to the article, in procrastinating people the level of stress observed is higher, that is more procrastination leads to more stress. Article also highlights that there is an inverse relation between academic procrastination and peer influence resistance which in turn leads to academic stress being negatively related to peer influence resistance.

To support the prior statements a small survey was conducted, which compiled the data of 400 students of different universities out of which 200 were males and 200 were females. There were three parameters which were to be examined. First – resistance to peer influence, Second – Academic procrastination using Tuckman Procrastination Scale and Third – Academic Stress. After all the results were derived from different scales, it showed that students with higher procrastinating behaviour led to higher stress levels. Study also revealed that students whose peer influence resistance was higher their level of stress and tendency to procrastinate things was also significantly low. The survey further exposed a very interesting finding that male students have more tendency to procrastinate things than female students and also females have more resistance to peer influence than male students.

The article only discusses about the negative side of procrastination and doesn’t discuss about any of its positive effect, as some people perform better in pressure rather than in normal conditions. The article also doesn’t give any hint about the performance of the people who have less tendency to procrastinate. The article also doesn’t tell the effect of positive peer influence on the tendency to procrastinate.

Sources

1. Ashraf, M. et al., (2019). Academic Stress Predicted by Academic Procrastination among Young Adults: Moderating Role of Peer Influence Resistance. Journal of Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, 18, 65-70.

Introduction to Teen Stress in Today’s World

Today’s growing youth faces many challenges. Teenagers face the constant struggles of schooling, after-school activities, workloads, and social pressure. With today’s society and the growth of technology, teenagers deal with even more stress and pressure than they would’ve twenty-five years ago. Stress is the response to pressure or threat. Stress can make us feel tense, nervous, or on edge. Ever wonder what the number one cause of stress among teenagers is? Due to social anxiety, fear of failure, and the struggle of balancing extracurriculars, school is the number one trigger that brings out stress amongst teenagers around the world causing them to experience emotional, physical, cognitive, and behavioral changes.

Stress is very common among most teens in the world. Most teens across the globe go to school for most of the day and go home to homework or sports or clubs. Having lots of activities lined up throughout the day makes it hard for a teenager to complete all they have to do while maintaining strong grades, performance in clubs or sports, and a healthy eating and sleeping schedule. This can often lead to stress and anxiety among them. The American Psychological Association took a survey amongst teens and their number one reason for stress is school and its extra-curricular activities.

Academic Stress: Grades, Future Concerns, and Expectations

Academic stress isn’t just going to school. Many things fall under the category of academic stress. Grades play a major role in academic stress. Many teenagers stress about having certain grades and maintaining them throughout the year. When a grade slips or they perform poorly on an assignment, it causes stress and anxiety. Teenagers also commonly think: What will I do once I finish school? The future is a very stressful topic to discuss for most teenagers who aren’t quite sure what they want to do after school. With this comes the constant stress of having to please parents and teachers. Teenagers face lots of stress from parents and teachers to keep their grades up and perform in school. All these issues factor into academic stress.

Social Stress: Bullying and the Impact of Social Media

Social Stress is very common among teenagers in school. Many kids in today’s society face bullying, which is a major problem that many schools have been trying their best to have a no-bullying tolerance policy. Wherever one may go to school, there will be bullying, it’s inevitable, and many kids get bullied about not being smart or having poor performance. Social media also can be a major source of stress in school for teenagers. Dr. Gurwitch states how, “Social stress is a real thing, teenagers are constantly thinking about how to fit in with peers, bullying, relationships, especially with the attachment to their phones, stress levels are rising” (Mazziotta). With the technology in today’s society, kids can do all their communication online and not have to confront or interact in person. Posts made on social media that are controversial by students can lead to discussion and confrontation in school, which can be stressful.

Peer Pressure: Navigating the Complexities of Teenage Social Life

Peer pressure is also a form of social stress. Peer pressure can affect many teenagers’ school lives. Teens are constantly pressured by their peers and friends to do things in school they may not feel comfortable with. Teens can be pressured into cheating, and poor behavior, many teens are also pressured into using drugs or other harmful substances in school, which can lead to higher stress levels and poor performance while in school. Peer pressure can be very stressful to the point where students may not want to attend school to avoid situations like this which can lead to them falling behind in school and work which will ultimately lead to poor performance.

The Fear of Failure: A Deep-Rooted Cause of Teen Stress

The fear of failure is also a very common trigger of teen stress. Many teenagers are afraid they’re going to do poorly in school, and disappoint teachers, peers, and their families. They’re constantly having to think about what comes after high school, and how they’ll succeed in life. Teenagers have so much pressure put upon them, that they’re told that high school sets them up for college. If one does poorly in high school, does that mean they won’t get into a good college? Does doing poorly in high school and college mean they won’t succeed in life? These are common things a teenager thinks about during school and often fears the failure to come. Fear of failure in school can lead to much more than stress. This can often lead to anxiety and depression. Teens can become depressed if they get on a bad track because they think they are not going to succeed in life. Everyone has the opportunity to do well in life, school is supposed to give you the tools you need to do so. A school is a stressful place, that most teenagers don’t enjoy, they aren’t getting the tools that can help them in later life. This causes the fear of failure.

Consequences of Stress: Behavioral, Physical, and Emotional Changes

Stress from school can ultimately lead to affect the body in many ways. Stress from school can cause behavioral changes, physical changes, cognitive changes, and emotional changes. A student’s behavior can change in many ways. These can be changes in eating habits or sleeping habits, and avoidance to do their normal, daily activities. Students under a lot of stress are likely to get sick more often and complain of headaches, stomachaches, and other aches and pains. They can experience cognitive changes like decreased concentration, forgetfulness, and the appearance of carelessness. Teenagers under lots of stress can also experience emotional changes such as agitation, anxiety, or depression. It’s most important to pay attention to the emotional changes of teenagers because unfortunately, bad things can happen to teenagers who become depressed or have lots of anxiety.

The American Psychological Association did a survey on teen stress and got the statistics. They reported that around 10% of people say stress causes them to get lower grades than they expected. 59% of people say that balancing all their extracurriculars with school causes them the most stress. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that over 62% of people face overwhelming stress and anxiety from school. That number is up from 50% in 2011.

I decided that I wanted to know what my fellow peers felt about stress, what the main cause of their stress was, and if they even get stressed out. I created a survey monkey poll with 3 questions: Is school your number one cause of stress? What gives you the most stress in school? If there was one thing administrators could do to make school less stressful, what would it be? I used my technology to my advantage and posted my survey on my social media platforms knowing I would draw the most people from Instagram, or Snapchat. I was very excited to see that in 12 hours I got over 100 responses. Unfortunately, survey monkey is only free for the first 100 responses so I can’t see what the last 20 people have said, but the trend is similar.

For the first question, 91% of high school students say school is the number one cause of stress, 6% say it is not, and 3% say it is other (sports, social media, etc.). 91% is a very large percentage, and I was happy to know that I am not the only person who faces stress in school. For the second question, I received many responses from students on what causes the most stress. When I went through the responses, I noticed that many people said homework, grades, expectations, testing, future, and workload. For the last question, all the responses were very similar, but I had a few that stood out. Many students obviously wished for no homework and less school. Some people suggested that teachers communicate without teachers so they don’t all assign a bunch of work due for one day. Others wanted teachers to be more understanding of all the stress kids face and the difficulties of balancing their time. All the responses were very helpful and let me get an insight into my fellow peers’ lives and I’m very grateful I got the opportunity to do this survey.

A way to help limit students’ stress in school is to find ways the school can help. Many students say less homework, less school, and shorter days, but in the long run, that just cannot happen for most schools. Most schools have guidance counselors who are trained to deal with students daily. Guidance counselors know lots about student stress and can help teenagers find ways to balance their curricula and work with their teachers. Guidance counselors can be valuable in solving the problem of stress in school. Talking to teachers can also help with stress levels, by communicating with them, they know how you feel and they can often help you and give advice.

The stress response is also called your fight-or-flight response. This basically means that it’s an automatic response that helps us deal with what our body thinks is dangerous. This doesn’t mean that the situation can be physically dangerous, everyday pressures, and stress from school can activate it. This response can be used to help you do well in stressful situations, like the stress you feel before taking a big test or presenting in front of the class. This helps you face your challenges, rather than backing away from them, it’s a part of learning from your mistakes and growing. Many of us are using our fight-or-flight responses in school and may not even know it. It may seem like your body is crashing from all the stress and pressure school puts on you, but it’s not going to let you fall, your body’s fight or flight response will often help you with your stress, you just need to learn how to engage it.

Learning how to deal with stress can also help limit the stress from school teenagers face. Be realistic, Dr. D’Arcy Lyness says “Don’t be perfect, nobody is, don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself, if you need help from somebody, just ask” (Lyness). Get a good night’s sleep, sleep helps keep your mind and body in good shape, making you better deal with stressful situations. Don’t overschedule, you may have to cut activities out of your day, choose the most important ones, and don’t cram. Make time for fun and build positive relationships, having people who you enjoy and trust can help you deal with your challenges. Finally, learn how to relax your body, find what makes you feel calm, and learn and practice breathing exercises to use when you’re caught up in a stressful situation.

Due to social anxiety, fear of failure, and the struggle of balancing extracurriculars, school is the number one trigger that brings out stress amongst teenagers around the world causing them to experience emotional, physical, cognitive, and behavioral changes. Students face stress every day and are constantly pressured by peers, teachers, and family which can cause even more stress. Social stress is a real thing and because of how advanced our technology is today and how addicted the youth is to social media, their stress can be even larger in school. The school doesn’t have to be a stressful place and can be very useful if you learn how to deal with stress. There are many ways teenagers can grow, learn how to cope with their stress, and help their peers succeed as well. By focusing on yourself and learning when too much is too much, you can limit stress, and do well in school. It all starts with you.

Works Cited

1. Lyness, D’Arcy. “Stress for Teens.”, KidsHealth, The Nemours Foundation, Jan. 2017. Web. 6 November.2019. kidshealth.org/en/teens/stress.html.
2. Mazziotta, Julie. “Teen Stress Is on the Rise: Why It’s a Major Problem, and How You Can Help.” PEOPLE.com, May 14, 2018, Web. 1 November.2019. people.com/health/teen-stress-rising-what-to-do/.
3. Smith, Kathleen. “6 Common Triggers of Teen Stress.” Psycom.net Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1986, 2018, Web. 1 November.2019. www.psycom.net/common-triggers-teen-stress/.
4. Whyte, Angus. “Teen Stress and Anxiety: Facts and Statistics.” Evolve Treatment Centers, 29 May 2019, Web. 6 November.2019. evolvetreatment.com/blog/teen-stress-and-anxiety-facts-and-statistics/.

Introduction

According to Goldberg (2018) drug and substance abuse can be defined as a disease that affects one’s brain as well as behavior. Once addicted to a specific substance or drug no matter how much damage it might be causing to the participant’s body both physically and mentally, it becomes almost impossible to fight or resist the desire or craving to use it. At first, it may be just an experimental phase where the participant just wanted to experiment with a specific drug just to experience the feeling of euphoria that one time but in most cases not all people who try drugs experimentally are mentally strong enough to say that just the one-time experience was enough and in turn leads to the person constantly chasing and craving that feeling of euphoria or looking for a better feeling that last longer and satisfies their need for the drug. In this essay, the focus will be on all the variables that contribute to the addiction to drugs and substances among teenagers in high schools and universities in the Boksburg area. The main variables that I will be focused on are mainly the family-related variables which include relationships between parents and children, conflict within a household between members of the household, lack of or poor parental monitoring of adolescents, parents excessively spoiling their children with much more than they need, I will also be focusing on external variables outside of the household being a mixture of peer pressure and factors from the area or community in which we are investigating.

Literature Review

Relationship between parent and child

According to Alhyas (2015), the relationship between parents and their children has an effect in the long run of an adolescent’s life on substance and drug abuse. In the study which was conducted by Alhyas (2015), she found that most of the adolescents who used substances had prior conflicts with their parents and or very poor relationships with their parents. Some of the participants in her study stated that if their parents were more hands-on on, supportive of their children’s unwanted behavior as opposed to punishment it would have made a difference in their addiction battle. Other participants stated that there was a need for a high level of parental monitoring of their children as a protective measure against substance abuse. Relationships between a parent and adolescents play a big role in the psychological development of adolescents e.g. an adolescent who is shown continuous love and dedication from a parent is less likely to fall into drug abuse or substance abuse as opposed to a child whose parents have never shown any affection or interest in their own child’s life thus leading the adolescent to wonder and question themselves as to why they are neglected or hardly paid attention to. Parental monitoring is one of the most important factors when it comes to relationships between parents and adolescents, adolescents need parents to focus on them to teach them right from wrong in all factors of life, parents who apply themselves to their children’s lives often see their children grow into responsible adults due to the attention that was paid to them at a young age versus parents who give their children too much freedom and neglect the well-being of their child regret the relationship they had with their child when their child turns to drugs or substances as an escape. However, as Alhyas’s study suggests parents who are involved in their adolescent’s lives also fall victim to their children becoming addicted to substances or drugs due to parents spoiling their adolescents and giving them too much freedom in terms of providing them with large amounts of pocket money or spending money at a time and or allowing them to come and go as they please. Adolescents who are spoiled with too much allowance often fall trapped in drug or substance abuse due to them having money or funds constantly available to support their bad habits as drugs and substances don’t come very cheap, on the other hand too much freedom has also proved to affect adolescents negatively due to them being allowed to do whatever they want they often fall into the wrong company or become acquaintances with others who have already fallen victim to drug and substance abuse.

Peer Pressure

Peer pressure is defined by Rook (2016) as a strategy by which any group influences its members. Those who happen to be on the receiving end sooner or later change their behavior to fit into the group. Regrettably, a group of peers rarely pressure each other into changes that are good for example pressuring each other to strive for better grades or to meet deadlines on time, rather they find themselves being pressured into anything from smoking a cigarette to smoking marijuana or partaking in prescribed pills for a euphoric feeling. Adolescents are most likely to fall victim to peer pressure due to the importance placed on popularity among students in high schools and universities, adolescents would much rather be forced into trying illegal substances and do it instead of being rejected or isolated by other peers because they refused to partake in whatever was being offered. Although peer pressure is mainly linked to physical interaction with other peers it is not limited to that, peer pressure on social media sites is becoming increasingly high risk, teens who attend high school or university are extremely technologically forward in terms of social media which range anywhere from Instagram to Snapchat or Twitter, etc. Adolescents are exposed to pictures, videos, or tweets daily that illustrate that drinking or smoking marijuana or even trying pills are perceived as being cool, which in turn leads to popularity, constantly being exposed to these illustrations daily is eventually going to promote or convince an adolescent that participating in such behavior has become a norm or just another way to display popularity among peers, this had become known as digital peer pressure. A survey conducted by The National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University revealed, that 75% of teens seeing pictures of teens partying with alcohol or marijuana on social networking sites encouraged them to do the same, Jaslow (2012). However, when we speak about peer pressure it does not exclusively refer to adolescents or kids/teenagers it affects many adults as well, that statement the encouragement may come from everyday surroundings, where one resides, or with whom one is living or stays. When a person who no longer qualifies as a minor is affected by peer pressure it is usually to experience the feeling they felt the first time they experimented with a specific substance, in some cases couples who are living together or are married look to drugs as an escape from the everyday pressures of life and think that it will help them achieve peace in the relationship or to solve common problems such as everyday fighting. When discussing peer pressure we have to also take into consideration the mentality of different people about the way one thinks and acts in certain situations they are placed in and the level of self-control one possesses or does not possess at all, for example, people who act impulsively and make decisions very fast without evaluating where/what their decision will lead them to often are amongst the first to fall into the trap of peer pressure and are more likely than others to experiment or start using drugs or substances again.

Substance accessibility

Accessibility to drugs and substances is now more than ever before according to Keller (2015), for adolescents to get their hands on but the question is how? The first place that most adolescents find prescribed drugs is right under our noses, at home. One of the easiest ways for adolescents to access drugs and alcohol is in their own homes, and in most cases it’s not even dad or mum’s liquor cupboard that is attracting their attention. It’s the family medication cabinet where anything from leftover pills from dad’s surgery can be found to painkillers or sleeping tablets, adolescents view prescription medication as being safe because it came from the doctor. Another one of the most popular drugs that are abused is prescribed cough mixtures which contain codeine and promethazine, the popular way of consuming the cough mixture is to mix it with a fizzy drink and some candy to sweeten its taste. Social media and the internet are another source that makes drugs readily available in today’s age, with whatever you may be looking for just being a few clicks away. Social media sites such as Facebook make drugs readily available for anyone who has the funds to buy them, ranging anything from marijuana to Xanax, through the use of secret pages or groups created by dealers of such substances, however, some are not even secretive about the business they are conducting, one can simply type into the search block what you’re looking for and it will pop up. If not through the use of social media the other alternative would be the internet where you can find anything from an organ to a weapon to drugs known as the dark web. Another place we overlook very often is our high schools and university campuses, a normal person would assume that these places would be safe because after all they are sending their children there but they are wrong, high schools and university campuses have become major hotspots for acquiring illegal substances. Many students start selling illegal substances as a way of obtaining extra income as students who do not have a steady income or work.

Environment

Stress is induced by stressful environments, which in turn affects people and their behavior (Jaffe, 2018). When we speak about the environment about drug abuse we are speaking about external factors that surround us daily in our everyday lives. The research conducted by (Jaffe, 2018) states that individuals who associate with others who frequently abuse drugs are more than likely to adopt and participate in this behavior as it is seen as a norm. A few of the environmental factors that are or come into play when we speak about drug addiction are groups of peers with whom you associate yourself. When individuals are heavily reliant on social interaction they often tend to attract or join the wrong crowd of peers who regularly partake in different kinds of drugs or heavy substance abuse whether it be adolescents or adults and with this, it becomes harder for an individual to remove themselves or leave a particular situation. When an individual is influenced by others to try or experiment with a specific drug or substance it creates a sense of belonging within the individual which is directly connected to the peers with whom they associate. Another external factor relating to the environment is social media. Social media has several social benefits but with this, it also has several social cons. Individuals who struggle daily with problems relating to their emotions for example depression, social media can have a very negative effect on them when they log onto their Instagram, Facebook, etc., and see people regularly who are good-looking and enjoying their lives, having fun, go out every weekend, it can cause further damage to the individual in terms of affecting their self-esteem as a person. When individuals are suffering from emotional battles such as depression, self-esteem and self-worth are very important factors, emotional problems often lead individuals to turn to drugs as an escape from everyday problems they may face and give them a few hours of euphoria/happiness or peace of mind which they struggle to find anywhere else. But it is not only social media that has its downfall, media in general has a great downfall whether it be about what is shown on television, movies, or even simple things like video games, all of these factors portray spectacles of drug or substance abuse making it look okay or cool in the eyes of viewer. But when speaking about the environment the most important factor is the physical environment, some areas are more drug-infested compared to others in the entire world and every country. When areas are more prone to having drugs available to purchase it becomes more of a norm for residents residing in the specific area, they may not like it but have no control over it. In areas where drugs and substances are freely available, an individual is more than likely to come into contact with them or more likely to fall victim to addiction.

Trauma

Trauma can be defined as a psychological, emotional reaction to an incident or experience that is severely stressful or disconcerting. Traumatic events can include, abuse physically, verbally, or sexually, neglect, accidents, and natural disasters. Drug abuse and substance abuse are most of the time more common and found more in individuals who have or are currently suffering from psychological trauma. When trauma is experienced early in life it increases an individual’s likelihood to fall victim to drug abuse. Trauma can happen to any individual from different walks of life whether rich or poor, regardless of gender, age, race, etc. Individuals often see drugs as a type of coping mechanism to help them deal with the trauma they are experiencing, especially because of how different drugs can cause different feelings of euphoria. Unknowingly individuals take drugs to escape their current headspace for a certain period not realizing that they are creating a pattern for a constant need for the drug to take away the feelings that they are currently running away from or trying to combat, so each time these feelings come up the craving for the specific drug will arise each time stronger than the previous time because the individual has trained their body unknowingly or subconsciously to crave the feeling the drug gives just to escape. In turn, this is the routine that often creates the addiction to the drug because the individual believes and has trained their body and mind to believe that the specific drug is the only way that they can help themselves heal when in fact it is harming them more than it is helping them. Individuals who were brought up in more even/steady households might be able to cope or deal with their trauma slightly better compared to those individuals who were brought up in disruptive/unstable households. Childhood trauma increases an individual’s risk factor of contracting PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) in the later stages of life.

Summary

In this essay, I have done extensive research into all of my variables as well as discussed each of my variables in-depth about my topic of the effects of drug abuse on teenagers in high schools and colleges in Boksburg. The variables I discussed include, the relationship between parents and their children, peer pressure, the availability of substances, an environment which included social media as well as media and the physical environment, and lastly how trauma correlates with drug abuse and addiction in individuals.

Nowadays, many teens continue to develop mental instability due to stress, pressure family issues, personal battles, etc. It is highly alarming that most teenagers suffer from mental instability Peer pressure is one of the main reasons a teenager has mental instability. Many adolescents described peer pressure as the ‘price of group membership’ (Clasen and Brown, 1985) and, according to Brown (1986, p 522), ‘peer pressure was specifically defined as’ whether people of your age are urging you to do something or not to do something else, regardless of whether you want to do something personally or not. Mental instability is when there is one, according to an online website called psychologenie.com, Mental instability happens when one suffers from a condition that takes care of normal brain function, rendering it either harmful, unusual or out of control for those who encounter it (Sarah, 2019). Peer pressure causes mental instability among adolescents because they feel the need to conform and receive validation from their peers, they are pressured to do better academically, and last but not least the lack a good support system to tell them that their hard work is valid.

Having friends who support everyone and treat everyone without judgment is a nice feeling for an adolescent to feel. Belonging to a group means that in a daily routine, a person must do the same thing as the group does. It requires conformity with the interests and desires of a group, which can result in pressure on those members of the group to like a particular activity. As S Dobesova Cakirpaloglu, S. Lemrova, J. Kvintova, and S. Vevodova, conformity is characterized as a specific response of adolescents to the stress of the social environment and a series of findings in the fields of psychology and behavior. They also stated that group size is one of the social factors of conformist behavior,’ the bigger the group, the bigger the group pressure on adolescents in the group’ (Dobesova Cakirpaloglu, Lemrova, Kvintova and Vevodova, 2016). A study showed that adolescents have an inconsistent pattern of behavior among adolescents with high social anxiety (HSA) between social interaction stress (SIS) and social judgment stress (SJS) (La Greca et al., 1988; Turner et al., 1989; Teachman and Allen, 2007). SIS defines the possibility of a teenager working together to achieve something and communicate effectively, while SJS refers to the performance of an adolescent being observed, compared, criticized, and evaluated by others within or outside the peer group. As Haun and Tomasello have reported, teens exhibit more conformity behavior when they know that their thoughts, views, and choices will be presented to the public, they’re afraid they’ll be judged if they say anything contradictory to what their peers think. One of the reasons teens do things according to what their peers do is because they want affirmation and they want to prove their loyalty to their parents, so they are pressured to do something entirely contrary to what they believe in. It will leave them with low self-esteem, anxiety, or even depression if they are not accepted by their peers for who they are and what they believe in.

One of the main reasons teenagers are now developing mental instability due to peer pressure is academic pressure. Parents just want what’s best for their kids, that’s why parents think higher grades are better, and lower grades than they’re expecting are worse because they’re still in the performance-based culture that they think is better. As Abeles (Race to Nowhere) points out, the educational stress of the youth is destroying their self-esteem, joy, and imagination. According to Rubin, the best way for parents to help their children alleviate the academic burden is to engage with the academic situation of their children and give them some ‘me-time’ for their children. As Rubin said, every kid and teenager needs PDF (playtime, downtime, family time) every day, regardless of their age. The engagement of adolescents with their peers could help enhance their potential and increase their academic performance at school as they could seek help from their peers that could serve as inspiration rather than working alone (Sotinis, Mirco, & Michael, 2013). ‘Peer pressure is one of the most powerful forces affecting teens,’ says Molina (2017). Another example of peer pressure from an academic point of view is that when a student feels like they’re not enough and their peers have a better grade than they do, they tend to feel like they haven’t done their best and their grades are lower than their peers. They will build a desire to do great things and do well, even if it is difficult for them to move forward.

More certainly, teenagers with mental instability do not have someone to rely on. One study shows that those who suffer from mental instability are a person who doesn’t have someone to rely on when things get tough. According to Puligni (1993), most probably due to the lack of guidance and support from parents for their children during adolescence, children during adolescence tend to enjoy the company of their peers more than their family as they believe that their peers better understand them than their family. At least every day parents should also try to talk to their kids and ask them how they coped and how they coped. According to Savin-Williams & Berndt (1990), a teenager with a supportive friendship is more likely to be altruistic, show empathy, and maintain a positive peer status. Laurence Steinberg (1992) claims that teenagers whose friends and parents value their academic achievement and are proud to do their best are doing better than teenagers who are sponsored by either or both. Nevertheless, when adolescents have a close relationship with their parents, their peers are less affected by them (Steinberg and Silverberg, 1986). As stated by Reisman (1985), peer pressure has a powerful influence on the feelings of teenagers, how they think, and how they decide. Having strong peer pressure changes one’s personality when these forces impact a teenager’s behavior, a teenager’s likes or dislikes, and a teenager’s feeling compelled to abandon their thoughts, perceptions, and emotions just to meet the expectations of peers or family.

There may be many reasons why a teenager or an individual suffers from mental instability but it should be troubling that peer pressure has had a lot of impact on a teenager’s or an individual’s mental state. Everyone should feel safe even in their own families because that’s where a lot of development goes on, parents should dismiss the idea that having good grades means their kids are better, and having lower grades is worse. Friends should also be the one who elevates each other in times of need and should help each other even if they have different perspectives on life. Having a support system is a good start for lowering peer pressure every day. Peer pressure is the cause of mental instability among adolescents as they feel the need to conform and gain approval from their peers, they are forced to do better academically, and finally, they lack a good support system to reassure them that their hard work is valid. But if anyone around an individual or adolescent helps each other and lets their beliefs not affect their emotions, it would diminish the risk of mental instability, and teenagers will know that they are adequate and everything they do and say is true because they have the right to freely express themselves.