Peer Pressure: Strategies to Help Teens Handle it Effectively

In situations where studying hard is stigmatized by one’s peers, Fryer concluded, underperforming students may be deliberately trying not to appear engaged in school. But what about schools that have the opposite culture, where kids are admired for being high achievers? Do students there also deliberately downplay a desire to excel?

Classroom activities

We tend to hear more about the potentially negative effects of peer pressure. For instance, two friends might put positive pressure on each other to go to the gym together and stay accountable for their fitness goals. With indirect peer pressure, no one is singling you out, but the environment you’re in may influence which of the following is a type of indirect peer pressure? you to do something. If you’re at a party where everyone is drinking, for instance, you might feel pressured to drink even if no one asks you to. Though peer pressure is not usually used to describe socially desirable behaviors, such as exercising or studying, peer pressure can have positive effects in some cases.

Talk to a Trusted Adult if They Feel Pressured

If she’s becoming defiant, aggressive or disrespectful, you’ll want to address this behavior and nip it in the bud before it continues to escalate. ReachOut works with young people across Australia to develop content. Some kids give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked or they think it helps them fit in. Some worry that other kids might tease them if they don’t go along with the group.

Positive vs. Negative Peer Pressure

Children’s Health offers one of the most comprehensive specialty programs available for children and teens who need psychiatry and psychological services. We’re recognized experts on treating eating disorders, depression and other mood disorders. Get health tips and parenting advice from Children’s Health experts sent straight to your inbox twice a month. Kids often give in to peer pressure because they want to fit in.

• Children who feel good about themselves are more likely to resist negative peer pressure.
• Sometimes it’s easier to know the right thing to do than it is to do it.
• Children’s Health offers one of the most comprehensive specialty programs available for children and teens who need psychiatry and psychological services.
• Watch ReachOut’s video where a daughter and mum talk about what peer pressure means for them and share their ideas on how to deal with it.
• Teaching communication skills to students, particularly assertive communication skills, is a useful strategy to help them stand up to bullying.
• Support and guidance from teachers reduces the likelihood of students allowing negative peer pressure to influence their thoughts, words, behavior, and self-esteem.

Part of the school journey is learning to deal with challenges in positive ways and, as always, Bitesize is here to support you every step of the way. Have you heard the old joke about the patient who tells the doctor, “Doc, my arm hurts when I do this! If your teens face pressure from peers pushing them to do things they know are wrong, teach them to stay away from stressful situations in the first place. If they know that a group of teens tend to look for trouble, avoid hanging out with them. If they know a corner can be dangerous, walk around the block in the other direction. Armed with some vital skills, teens can learn to handle and overcome peer pressure.

Helping teens deal with peer pressure

• This pressure may be expressed openly (“Oh, come on — it’s just one beer, and everyone else is having one”) or more indirectly — simply making beer available at a party, for instance.
• By seeing someone else do something positive, even if it’s challenging, you may reflect on your own life choices, goals, and where you spend your time.
• There are many aspects of school life that can be stressful, and kids don’t always know how to cope with these feelings.
• Choose a symptom and answer simple questions using our physician-reviewed Symptom Checker to find a possible diagnosis for your health issue.
• Unfortunately, chemical dependency becomes addictive after repeated use.

Peer pressure begins as early as age 10 with the forming of social groups in elementary school and increases during adolescence, throughout junior high and high school. Using alcohol or drugs increases anyone’s chances of giving in to peer pressure. Substance use impairs judgment and interferes with the ability to make good decisions. People may feel pressure to conform so they fit in or are accepted, or so they don’t feel awkward or uncomfortable. When people are unsure of what to do in a social situation, they naturally look to others for cues about what is and isn’t acceptable. The pressure to conform (to do what others are doing) can be powerful and hard to resist.

• Besides close friends, your peers include other kids you know who are the same age — like people in your grade, church, sports team, or community.
• When you’re faced with a choice, ask yourself what your reasons are for doing something.
• Some students might enjoy academic challenges, while others feel overwhelmed.

It should be a conversation in which you don’t pass judgment. If possible, share a situation from when you were younger in which you made a mistake and explain what you learned from it. That even-handedness will encourage them towards making positive choices if faced with a similar peer situation in the future. Your flexibility in these areas will also allow you to take firmer stances in areas that would challenge their safety or morality. Asking questions out loud to a friend or a group of peers when in a tough situation may help win allies and take some of the pressure off. For example, if teens are being pressured to shoplift, teach them things they can ask their peers.

The truth is that many fewer college students drink or use drugs than people assume. It’s similar with sex and “hooking up”—most students have a skewed idea of what others are doing. Knowing the facts can help you to resist pressures based on the idea that “everyone is doing it” and that you must party to fit in. Many adults are susceptible to drinking too much because their friends are doing it, or putting work before family because they’re competing with other people in their office for a promotion.

How Peer Pressure Affects All Ages

Stress can interfere with a student’s readiness to learn, which may cause them to fall behind — potentially increasing stress levels even more. The average age American kids take their first drink is 11 for boys and 13 for girls. Drugs are rampant in our communities today—not just marijuana, but also bath salts, meth, K2 (aka “spice” or synthetic marijuana), and prescription medications. As a parent, being involved and communicating with your child about drugs and alcohol is of vital importance.

Navigating school life can be pretty tough – here are some tips that we hope will help. Sticking to the rules in any school can be hard, particularly if you don’t really understand why they’re there in the first place. But figuring out what’s ok and what’s not is vital to having a good day and enjoying the best bits of school. Bullying can take many forms – physical, online, emotional, spreading rumours – and should never be tolerated in any school.