Peer Pressure

Peer pressure is when members or friends of the same age group try to influence or take you in to doing things that you do not do. Many people give in to peer pressure because they want to be accepted with their friends. Peer pressure is not always, but mostly a bad thing especially in a society like Pakistan where youngster are not guided on how to say ‘NO’ to peers.

More than 2/5th (45.8%) of the adolescents reported having personal experience of effects of peer pressure. Among most common manifestations of peer pressure are: change in physical appearance, getting more conscious about having money, smoking and others. Gender based analysis showed fractionally lower influence of peer pressure (0.3%) among girls (45.6%) as compared to boys (45.9%). The effects of peer pressure on adolescents were also acknowledged by the caretakers as 45.4% of them reported noticing the effects of peer pressure on their children.

New research shows that young drivers are being killed in car accidents because of peer pressure. Young adults aged between 17 and 21 are driving differently to what they would normally when they have friends with them in the car. According to Journal of Pakistan Medical Association, peer pressure, after occupational stress relief, has been ranked as second most important factor contributing to smoking with a mean score of 3.20 ± 1.42.

Younger respondents of the research, however, gave higher ratings to peer pressure, and most participants were found to have begun smoking at a young age. Recognizing the importance of this issue, government of Pakistan has promised giving trainings and communication skills, so they could resist peer pressure. (http://www.moya.gov.pk/national_youth_policy.html)