Teenage Peer Pressure
Autor: sfields • May 30, 2011 • Essay • 733 Words (3 Pages) • 2,295 Views
Teenage Peer Pressure
January 24, 2011
Peer pressure is a powerful force that affects the lives of all teenagers. No matter how popular you are, how well liked you may be or how together you feel, sooner or later you will face peer pressure. Teenagers think that it’s very important to “fit in”. They are very concerned about their image and they are also concerned about what other people think about them. Some influences by other teens in what to wear, how they behave, their bad attitudes and their disruptive practices. They want to be accepted by their friends, even if these actions lead to undesirable behavior. These actions can lead to early drug use, smoking, sexual behavior, alcohol abuse, shoplifting, vandalizing property, bullying other students, etc. All of these behaviors are unhealthy, both physically and emotionally.
There are certain personality traits and risk factors that make teens more prone to give into peer pressure. These factor include low self esteem, lack of self confidence, uncertain about ones place in a peer group, the peer group is the most important to the teen, feeling isolated from peers and/or family, failing in school work, fear of peers, lack of strong ties to friends, feeling friends could turn on them.
There are some startling statistics about peer pressure and what teenagers feel pressured to do. This pressure is straightforward, with some teens pressuring others to take part in unhealthy activities. Here are some statistics about peer pressure:
• The Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base reports that right around 30% of teenagers are offered drugs in middle school and high school.
• According to the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 73.3% of high school students have tried alcohol.
• 3.1 million Teenagers in America try to smoke, according to the American Lung Association.
• The Kaiser Foundation reports that about 50% of teenagers feel pressured with regard to sex in relationships.
Many teenagers end
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