How to Resist Peer Pressure & Stand Up For Yourself

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. You can also positively peer pressure others by the way you respond to situations. For instance, if your friend is body-shaming another person, you can say, “Actually, it can be really harmful to criticize people’s bodies like that.” What starts out as positive peer pressure may become negative pressure if it leads a person to over-identify with sports, for example, putting exercise and competition above all else. As the name suggests, spoken peer pressure is when someone verbally influences another person to do something.

• Or as you’re riding together in a car you may be exposed to real life situations on the streets around you.
• As they make decisions themselves, they’ll feel good about the choices they make and may be more likely to choose to do the right thing.
• 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.
• The best way to handle a peer pressure bully is to nab him (or her) when the two of you are alone and explain how you’re feeling and ask him/her to get off your case.
• If you recognise them in advance, you might be in a much better place to tackle it.
• If you have questions or concerns about your child’s mood, self-esteem or behavior, consider a consultation with a trained and qualified mental health professional.

Helping teens deal with peer pressure

The impact of peer pressure on children carries significant weight, leaving lasting impressions on their development. Positive peer pressure has the potential to wield transformative influence. When surrounded by peers who encourage them to set and pursue goals, children are motivated to reach their potential, explore uncharted territories, and cultivate positive habits. The effects of peer pressure can manifest differently in each person.

Helping Teens Deal with Peer Pressure

By doing so, their inner strength will help them stand firm with their feelings. A belief in themselves will help them do what they feel is right. It’s a combination that lets them resist succumbing to peer pressure and have the strength to walk away. They will know that even if they “fail” among their peers, they will succeed in the long run. Because adolescence is about testing limits and seeking new experiences, sooner or later teens will face peer pressure and difficult decisions that may be unpopular with friends. If your teens are increasingly finding themselves in uncomfortable situations, suggest they reassess their friendships.

Children’s Health Family Newsletter

If your teens don’t have quite enough confidence to walk away on their own, encourage them to look for a like-minded peer or friend who feels the same way they do in a particular situation. Peers play a large role in the social and emotional development of children and adolescents. Their influence begins at an early age and increases through the teenage years. It is natural, healthy and important for children to have which of the following is a type of indirect peer pressure? and rely on friends as they grow and mature. In the case of teens, parents are rarely concerned about the peer pressure their kids may face to engage in sports or exercise, as these are typically seen as healthy social behaviors. This is OK, as long as the exercise or sport does not become an unhealthy way of coping, excessive to the point of negatively affecting their health, or dangerous (as in dangerous sports).

• Direct peer pressure is when a person uses verbal or nonverbal cues to persuade someone to do something.
• Skills that are needed to work effectively with people, have meaningful friendships, and healthy romantic and family relationships in the future.
• From my own experience, I have seen how peer pressure affects people at school, college, university and beyond into adult life.
• Peer pressure is any type of influence, positive or negative, that comes from a peer group.
• The effects of peer pressure can manifest differently in each person.
• Social pressure can affect a wide range of thoughts, actions and behaviors, from academic performance to substance use to mental health.

Do Things Together as a Family

• This involvement can lead to exposure to role models and eventually lead to the teens becoming positive role models themselves.
• It is driven by a desire to feel “normal,” a need that heightens during adolescence.
• You can also positively peer pressure others by the way you respond to situations.
• When I was at school, I struggled to shake the overwhelming feeling that I was somehow lagging behind everyone else.

Peer pressure is any type of influence, positive or negative, that comes from a peer group. When it comes to pressures around alcohol and other drug use, something else to think about is that most students overestimate how many of their peers drink or use drugs. 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.

Behavioral Addiction

Teach Teens to Stay Away

• Remind your teens that they are their own people making their own choices.
• Everyone should have specific peer pressure strategies in their back pocket that will help them respond to subtle nudging from peers towards risky activities.