The pressure to conform to what others are doing can be very powerful and hard to resist. During early adolescence, teenagers are drawn to the immediate rewards of the choices they make and are less attentive to the possible risks and consequences. People are influenced by peers because they want to fit in, be like peers they admire, do what others are doing, or have what their peer has. Peer pressure is a very influential source of negativity on the youth and sometimes even adults, such as drugs, sexual relations and crimes. A common motive for first time drug and alcohol use is peer pressure. Even if parents have taught their teens about the dangers of drinking and using drugs, peer pressure may influence them to take part in these dangerous activities. The desire to fit in ensures that there is a constant pool of new recruits who may later develop an addiction. Teens that are apart of a social group that support drugs or alcohol use encourages them to continue using these substances and make poor decisions. Drunk driving is more likely to occur if the individual belongs to a social group that condones heavy alcohol use. The …show more content…
Sociological studies have shown that deviant behavior is concentrated in certain adolescent groups. More than half of the 2,321 crimes that teens committed over the last two years in the country were due to peer pressure, a National Statistical Bureau’s qualitative data analysis revealed. Gangs, cliques, and peer groups vary in their overall rates of deviance, but if one member of a group engages in problem behavior, a high probability exists that other members will do the same, thinking that they are fitting in by doing so. Youth crime, according to the findings, increases steadily until the age of 19. However, not all teens have the same propensity to commit a crime, but their likelihood of committing a crime increases during their entire
Many theories concerning the causes of juvenile crime focus either on the individual or on society as the major contributing influence. Theories centering on the individual suggest that children engage in criminal behavior because they were not sufficiently penalized for previous delinquent acts or that they have learned criminal behavior through interaction with others. A person who becomes socially alienated may be more inclined to commit a criminal act.
Of the various possible causes for drug abuse, peer pressure is one of the main reasons young people indulge in recreational drugs. In fact, according to David Sheff,
There are many crimes committed by teenagers every year. Crimes that are committed by teens each year are mainly assault, bullying, gang violence, and physical fights. According to National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, about 1 and 9 murders are from kids that are under 18 (Center, 2001). In 1998, there were approximately 2,570 among youth aged 10-19. Every day there are at least 7 children murdered in the United States (Center, 2001). Statistics say that between 16%-32% female teenagers have committed a crime before the age of 17. Also 30%-40% male teenagers have committed a violent crime before they turned 17 (Center, 2001). Teenagers that commit crimes are the ones who were abused or bullied as a...
Though others may say that conformity and peer pressure are a part of our daily lives, and is healthy to share with others, conforming only to peer pressure isn’t
It is recurrent for some teens to engage in deviant behaviour with his or her peers with the purpose of acquiring the recognition of their peers. Youth can be persuaded to vandalize property to get the praise of others. It is all too common for youth to join a gang to feel a sense of unity and belonging from their friends. Physical altercations can be encouraged to prove how tough one is to their peers. If a teen wins a fight, with their friends as witnesses, it is common for him or her to gain respect from their friends.
Peers are one of the most influential agents in this stage. Your peers could pressure you into very reckless behavior. Peer presure is a very dangerous thing and could lead to an adolecent taking a different path than the one that they wanted. In some cases, however, peer pressure can be beneficial. If you have many peers that are all planning on going to the same college and they have asked you to join, you may feel obligated, or pressured, into doing better in your schooling to receive the grades you need to go to that college. The peers you have can also influence you without using peer pressure. If you have a group of peers that you socialize with on a daily bases, you start to act like them which can help you or hurt you depending on the peers you have chosen to interact with. Another part of the peers that you socialize with, and acting like them, is that those peers are who define you whether you like it or not. The saying You are who you hang with applies to this
On the other hand, lets note that exposure to deviant peers is not the only factor that leads adolescents in committing general delinquency. There are several factors that can lead a child into committing crime such as family, community, and school factors (Herrenkohl et. al, 2000). A debate remains over the means essential to the relationship between deviant peers and their effects on indiviudals. This is important because it illustrates that normal interaction with peer groups sways people to commit acts that wouldn’t be normal.
It has been studied and concluded that there is a spike in criminal behavior during the time of adolescence. Although it dwindles as youths age, it is important to identify the possible causes that becomes the source of criminal behavior in teens. Notice how the word causes was used instead of cause. That is because there is no
Peer pressure can be defined as a social influence from members of one's peer group. Peer pressure plays a big role in everyone’s life, whether
... instead of following the majority. The issue of peer pressure can relate to teens, as they are in constant pressure to be ‘cool’ or to be in the ‘in’ group. It does not really promote individualism, so people cannot develop their own ideas but rather follow the leader of their group.
...why youth engage in criminal activity Research suggests delinquent peers are a proximate cause than family/parental; family/parental may only be a slight cause of involvement in crime. Some research suggests that criminal propensities can be inherited through genes. Unfortunately, the media portrayals of crime aren’t a true representative of the actual crime trends, or accurately reflecting the level of crime perpetrated by youth. There are many different variables that could cause youth to engage in criminal activity, some of these major variables have been discussed throughout this essay.
Peer pressure is the influence from members of one’s peer group. Peer pressure affect many school aged children, and teenager, because of the desire to want to fit in. Affects of giving into peer pressure can lead to taking drugs, drinking alcohol, and having sex. By researching
Teenagers become caught up with following peers, because the decision is made to become involved in experimental activities by choice. On the other hand, peer pressure in teens can allow mature growth in the student, because the individual can them become a leader within an environment in a positive manner. According to kidshealth.org, “Getting to know lots of different people-
Many of the choices teenagers make are influenced by peer pressure. Sure, I had an obsession with many trends growing up, but later on in life I heard a quote that really aimed at my thoughts, the quote was "The shoe doesn't make the man, the man makes the shoe. " After hearing the quote, I thought about what I did in my life to fit in, and realized that what a person wears, buys, or listens to, doesn't create who a person is. Peer pressure throws out the thought of being who you want to be; peer pressure is more reminiscent of "be like everybody else.
Peer pressure can be both a positive and negative influence and will challenge us do things whether they are right or wrong. This is left for you to determine. Peer pressure can influence several areas in your life like; academic performance, who you choose for friends, it can influence who you mat choose for a boyfriend or girlfriend, it can influence decisions about sex, it may change your feelings about alcohol and drug use, and it can even determine your fashion choice.