PEER PRESSURE 1

How Peer Pressure Draws Youth into a Negative Lifestyle

KG Gill

Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School

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Peer pressure is a very serious concern in todays society. The negative effects of peer pressure for youth include

bad school grades, drug addiction and crime. First year students in high schools are more prone to peer pressure

than others because they rarely possess the mental strength to defeat it. After elementary school, kids look beyond

the guidance of their parents, and seek answers from their friends and school mates. Peer pressure most

commonly occurs at parties or school where parental supervision is minimal. (Lyness, 2014, pg.2). However,

indirect peer pressure can be experienced anywhere. It is important to stray away from peer pressure as soon as

possible because eventually, you will evolve into becoming a bigger part of it. The purpose of this paper is to

provide an overview of the topic, as well as stating the causes and related effects of peer pressure regarding school,

drugs and crime.

For the past few years, Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary constantly referred to as a mess, over-crowded and

inappropriate (CBC, 2015, pg.1). Most of those statements were regarding drugs, alcohol, and other school

issues. Bold statements like that dont come out of nowhere. In fact, according to The Canadian Lung Association,

Negative influencing from peers is the main reason those between the ages of 12 and 17 start drinking and

smoking (Adams, 2011, p.1). Before they know it, theyve dug themselves deeper and deeper into drugs and they

will find themselves being addicted. To date, there are approximately, 24,500 known youth gangs with about

772,500 youth members. That's about 7% of the US's teen population (Angst, 2010, p.1). No one is born a

gangster, but a lot of gangsters are dragged into the life through negative influencing. To make thing worse, once

someone is accepted into gang, it is very difficult to try and leave; especially if it is a child. A new University of

Maryland-led study describes that peer group influences affect children much earlier than researchers have

suspected (Pedro, 2013, pg.1). Children in elementary often lack confidence and the ability to tell right and wrong

the way adults do. The first experience of peer pressure for youth usually involves lying or cheating. Identical to

Drugs and Crime, the feeling of needing to please others is also present in smaller levels of peer pressure as well.
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It is very important for high schoolers to understand the meaning and effects of peer pressure (UOC, 2016, pg.1).

Often, society thinks only older kids and adults could be the only ones exposed to peer pressure. When in reality, it

can start as soon and school does. Many youth are being encouraged decisions to their friends best interest, but

they do not think about themselves. It is clear that peer pressure is a topic that is needed to be talked about more

because its harmful all throughout a childs most important years. The effects that crime, drugs and a bad school

life can have on a child are unsafe for any childrens futures. Given that, best way to avoid or defeat peer pressure

is to prepare and gain key information about it.

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References

Adams, C (n.d). Breathe. Retrieved, September, 15, 2017, from

www.blog.lung.ca

Lyness, D. (2015). Kids Health. Retrieved, September, 30, 2017, from

http://kidshealth.org/en/teens/peer-pressure.html

Psychology Today. (2010). Teen Gangstas. Retrieved, November, 11, 2017 from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/teen-angst/201010/teen-gangstas

Pedro. (2012). Bad Grades Because of Peer Pressure? Retrieved November, 2, 2011 from

https://theeconomyofmeaning.com/2013/06/06/bad-grades-because-of-peer-pressure-it-starts-earlier-than-

you-think/

UOC (2015) 6 Ways to Avoid Peer Pressure in Youth. Retrieved November, 10, 2017 from

https://equippinggodlywomen.com/parenting/help-children-resist-peer-pressure/