PEER PRESSURE AND MENTAL HEALTH
POSITIVE PEER PRESSURE:
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF PEER PRESSURE:
Negative peer pressure involves harmful situations within a peer group that negatively impact an individual's mental or emotional well-being. Negative peer pressure can affect a person in the following ways:
- Judgmental peers often assert their superiority through harsh criticism and negative comparisons. In these environments, choices related to clothing, food, and living situations are frequently scrutinized. This can generate feelings of inferiority and inadequacy, prompting individuals to suppress their true selves and imitate the styles of their judgmental peers in an attempt to meet expectations and seek validation.
- Toxic peer dynamics can lead people to make dangerous choices like abusing drugs, engaging in risky behaviors, or disobeying the law. Emotional distress brought on by negative peers, like bullying or exclusion, can result in anxiety, stress, or even depression.
- Competitive or unrealistic expectations from peer groups can lead to burnout, decreased motivation, and feelings of inadequacy. These burdensome demands can obstruct the path to achieving personal goals, making it increasingly challenging to maintain a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
WHY IS PEER PRESSURE INCREASING IN SOCIETY?
The desire for validation, toxic home environments, and low self-esteem create a space for negative peer influence. This influence can drive individuals to compromise their beliefs in a quest to fit in. Many people, especially teens, find themselves smoking or drinking, believing these choices will help them appear cool and attain peer validation. Yet curiosity and the fear of missing out (FOMO) also motivate the exploration of new experiences amidst uncertainty.
The 2023 Study highlights the power of higher self-esteem and confidence, revealing that these traits can diminish the impact of peer pressure. When individuals embrace their positive qualities, they align their actions with their morals and values, paving the way for self-acceptance and authentic connections.
HOW TO DEAL WITH PEER PRESSURE?
- Dealing with peer pressure requires self-awareness, courage and thoughtful decision-making creating alignment between values and actions.
- Self-confidence is vital, as it empowers you to gracefully decline actions that conflict with your deeply held values and principles.
- Understanding the psychology of peer influence and avoiding peers who push you to engage in harmful behaviors.
- Seeking advice from reliable adults, such as parents, siblings, teachers, or counselors, can also be very helpful in coping with peer pressure.
- Identifying positive and encouraging peers and creating a support network for your mental well-being.
A WORD FROM MENTAL NURTURING:
An important social force that can significantly influence someone's behavior, choices, and mental health is peer pressure. In today's world, Gen-Z is having social anxiety and negative impacts of peer pressure, often influenced by the overuse of social media, forcing updates on their feeds. To thrive in this environment, they must build resilience against peer pressure. Peer pressure can push people to take risks or engage in destructive behaviors like substance abuse to fit in with a group. When people are influenced in this way, they frequently violate their values, which leads to emotional distress, low self-esteem, and poor decision-making. These detrimental factors have the potential to affect a person's emotional and mental health seriously.
It's crucial to understand that peer pressure is not inherently harmful; it can encourage people to make wise, health-conscious choices and constructive decision-making. People can successfully negotiate the difficulties posed by peer pressure if they are aware of its dual nature. By fostering emotional intelligence and self-esteem, individuals can resist negative peer pressure and harness its positive potential to enhance their lives and well-being.
RESOURCES:
1. https://scimatic.org/storage/journals/11/pdfs/357.pdf
2. https://www.seahipublications.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IJIPSD-J-12-2019-1.pdf
3. Cooper RE, Saunders KRK, Greenburgh A, Shah P, Appleton R, Machin K, Jeynes T, Barnett P, Allan SM, Griffiths J, Stuart R, Mitchell L, Chipp B, Jeffreys S, Lloyd-Evans B, Simpson A, Johnson S. The effectiveness, implementation, and experiences of peer support approaches for mental health: a systematic umbrella review. BMC Med. 2024 Feb 29;22(1):72. doi: 10.1186/s12916-024-03260-y. PMID: 38418998; PMCID: PMC10902990.
4. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S245230111500005X
5. Ugwu LE, Ramadie KJ, Ajele WK, Idemudia ES. Childhood adversity and peer influence in adolescent bullying perpetration. Sci Rep. 2024 Dec 28;14(1):30959. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-81978-8. PMID: 39730818; PMCID: PMC11681030.
Written by:
Hooria Jannat Javed,
Certified Medical Writer
On February 11, 2025
