Outside of her professional endeavors, Megan finds joy in the company of her partner and Sober living home pets. She relishes spending time with friends, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, and exploring the great outdoors during milder weather. Beyond her clinical practice at AspenRidge, Courtney finds solace in outdoor activities, sports, reading, and cherishing quality time with her family and beloved dog. Describing her therapeutic approach as evidence-based, Courtney champions a humanistic or person-centered approach as the ideal foundation. She integrates her expertise in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and mindfulness-based practices to tailor interventions according to each client’s distinct needs. Jill is a Colorado native who received a master’s in clinical psychology with an emphasis on women’s studies from the University of Houston.

Can Peer Pressure Be Positive?

A group of teens who drink may practice direct peer pressure on a new member of the group by handing them a beer at a party, even if it wasn’t requested. The message this sends is that drinking is not an option but, rather, a requirement. This forces many young individuals to make on-the-spot decisions under stress, where they usually disregard their own views to fit in or avoid being rude. Being forced to make these decisions can cause extreme uneasiness, and it then becomes important to know how to cope with anxiety and other symptoms that arise. With indirect pressure, adolescents are exposed to the actions of one or more peers and can choose which one to follow.

Developing Assertiveness Skills

Peer pressure occurs when a peer group exerts direct or indirect pressure to do certain actions. The term “peer” often refers to people one knows in real life and who have a similar social status to oneself. For example, television shows can convey to the public an acceptable way to behave, even though the people on TV do not know every individual they are influencing. Of note, substance use was also predicted by peer pressure susceptibility such that greater susceptibility direct peer pressure was predictive of greater alcohol and drug use.

• They may consult friends for advice on school subjects, relationships, career choices, and even personal dilemmas.
• For instance, if a peer group wants to make good grades, a young teen can be positively influenced to study.
• In the 1940s, Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, began a systematic purge against the Jewish people living in Europe, killing around 2.5 million Jews by the end of World War II.
• Her journey began with crisis intervention for families, evolving into roles in community counseling, corrections, and residential facilities.
• She specializes in mood and personality disorders as they relate to addiction and is passionate about healing trauma by way of brainspotting and other trauma therapy methods.

Peer Pressure in Older Teens and Young Adults

Knowing the types of peer pressure there are is the first step to understanding what can be done to resist giving in. There are many coping skills for teens that can be used to deal with the pressures of being influenced by peers. Let us remember that dealing with peer pressure is not an individual task but a collective one.

Direct pressure is exerted when one peer group asks, suggests, persuades, or leads another to participate in a specific action, behavior, deed, or challenge. This pressure resides in a one-on-one interaction; the one being influenced has more opportunity to confront his or her decision against his or her set of beliefs and values. Examples of these kinds of behavior would be when a teenager hands another teen an alcoholic drink, or makes a sexual advance, or looks at another student’s paper during a test. The other teen is put in a position of having to make an on-the-spot decision.

• Justin was born and raised in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he began his clinical education at Colorado State University.
• Practicing compassion, demonstrating good friendship behaviors, and staying true to their unique self will set them up for success later on.
• Peer pressure also plays a significant role in shaping our self-esteem and mental health.