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Human beings are naturally social creatures that can be influenced by each other. Teenagers are especially prone to this influence as they are in the prime stage of development—exploring their personalities, identities, and place in the world.
Teens spend a large amount of their time around their peers and tend to pick up similar behaviors from the people they are with.
It’s important for parents, educators, and community leaders to understand why teens are more influenced by peer pressure to help guide them to make healthy choices and build positive habits.
How Does Peer Pressure Influence Our Teens?
Peer pressure influences teens in several ways, both good and bad. Anything from eating habits, exercise, interests, music, activities, and more can be influenced by peers.
The negative side of peer pressure is often associated with more reckless behaviors such as drinking, drugs, stealing, vandalism, or unprotected sex. There are several types of peer pressure to be mindful of, these include:
- Positive peer pressure which can influence teens to change for the better. An example could be if your teen spends time around others who are involved in sports and decides to join themselves.
- Negative peer pressure (the kind of peer pressure most parents think of). This is behavior that can be harmful to themselves or others such as drug use.
- Direct peer pressure is when someone intentionally pressures someone into doing something or a teen seeks out change. An example could be being pressured to drink alcohol at a party.
- Indirect peer pressure is more subtle and not always noticeable right away. It could be learned behaviors over time your teen picks up from hanging out with their peers.
What Makes Teens So Vulnerable To Peer Pressure?
There are several reasons from social to biological that make teens more vulnerable to peer pressure. Teens are going through higher rates of developmental changes than other demographics.
The prefrontal cortex in the brain is still growing. This region controls decision-making, impulse control, and motivation. Teens are known to engage in more risky behaviors because they do not always understand the future consequences of their actions.
Another reason teens may be more vulnerable to peer pressure is the natural desire for social acceptance. As youth explore their identities, it´s normal to want to feel accepted by their peers and increase their social status.
Teens with mental health problems or low self-esteem may also be extra vulnerable to peer pressure. Youth often look to their peers for validation, if they experience self-doubt or insecurities, this can make them more likely to engage in risky behaviors to gain social acceptance.
Although peer pressure is often associated with negative experiences such as drug and alcohol use, not all peer influence is bad. Just like unhealthy behaviors can influence teens, healthy behavior can also influence them. This is especially important to keep in mind for parents who can model healthy behaviors in the home for their teens.
Peers can also be a good influence on each other. Encouraging your teen to hang out with peers who are involved in their communities, sports, and academics, may influence your teen to embody those same behaviors.
Tips for Dealing With Peer Pressure
There are a few tips for teens and parents to handle peer pressure in a healthy way.
- Encourage your teen to hang out with positive influences
- Help your teen build confident self-esteem so they don´t rely on others for validation
- Teach your teen how to say no
- Build an open line of communication with your teen
- Develop a code word with your teen that they can use or text you in times of crisis
FAQs
Peer pressure is often a big concern for parents, especially during the teen years when their youth starts high school and begins becoming more independent. We have answered a few common questions parents may have
How does peer pressure affect teenagers?
Peer pressure plays a large role in the lives of teens. It can impact their self-esteem, mental health, behaviors, the activities they enjoy, academics, and more.
What are some positive peer pressures?
Some positive peer pressures include academic achievement, volunteering, healthy lifestyle choices, and overcoming fears to try new things.
What are negative peer pressures?
Negative peer pressures can include risky behavior that can be harmful to your teen or others. Some of these could include drug use, alcohol, or unprotected sex.
Mike grew up on a dairy farm in Parker County, Texas. At the age of 59, he went back to college and graduated 41 years after his first graduation from Weatherford College. God placed on his heart at that time the passion to begin to help others as they walked from addictions, alcoholism, and abuse of substances. He is a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and in the past few years he has worn many hats, from intake and assessment, group counseling, individual and family counseling, intensive outpatient and now he is working with clients, therapist, and families on discharge planning and aftercare. He also coordinates our Alumni Outreach Program.
