PropertyoftheInternationalYouthAllianceforFamilyPlanning
PeerPressure
Whatispeerpressure?
Thefeelingthatsomeoneyourownageispushingyoutowardsmakingacertainchoice,goodorbad.
Peer
Pressure
• someoneinyourown
• thefeelingthat
agegroup
someoneispushing
youtowardsacertain
choice,goodorbad.
Peer
Pressure
Whendoesthishappen?
Peerpressurecanhappenatanytimeinyourlife,butismostlikelytohappenduringadolescence.
Whydoesthishappen?1
Yourfriendsandpeerscanhavealargeinfluenceinyourlife,especiallyattimewhenyouarebecoming
moreindependent.Duringadolescence,youcanendupspendingmoretimewithyourfriendsthanwith
yourfamily!Thedecisionsandinterestsofyourpeerscanlargelyinfluenceyourdecisionsandinterests
inapositiveorinanegativeway.
Peerinfluencescanincludethewaytheydress,thethingstheydoontheirtimeoff,andtheattitudes
theyshow.Peopleareinfluencedbypeersbecausetheywanttofitin,andtheymaywanttobelike
peerstheyadmire,dowhatothersaredoing,orhavewhatothershave.
1
TheNemoursFoundation/KidsHealth.(2015)Peerpressure:Whoareyourpeers?Retrievedfrom
http://kidshealth.org/teen/homework/problems/peer_pressure.html
Positiveversusnegativepeerpressure
Negative:Oftencanleadtodangerorill-healthandwillgoagainstsocietyrules,schoolrules,or
personalvalues.
Examples:skippingschool,destructingproperty,stealing,cheating,smoking,doingdrugs,
drinkingalcohol,sneakingoutofthehouse,bullying,unprotectedsex,disrespectingauthority
Positive:Oftenoverlookedbutcanbeaninfluencetodosomethinggoodand/orright.
Examples:joiningasportsteam,volunteering,studying,helpingothers,befriendingsomeone
Howtoovercomeanddealwithpeerpressure
Stepstodealwithdirectorindirectpeerpressure
1. Askyourselfquestions
“Whywouldwedothat?’,“Whoseideawasthis?”,“Isthisthesmart
thingtodo?”
Example:Ifsomeoneisbeingpeerpressuredtosmoke,they
shouldaskthemselves,“IssmokingsomethingthatIshoulddo?”
2. Identifythenegativebehaviororaction
“Callinghermeannamesisgoingtostarttrouble”,“Idon’tthinksmokingisagoodidea”,“Itisagainst
therulestoleaveschoolduringschoolhours”
Example:Ifsomeoneisbeingpeerpressuredtosmoke,theyshouldidentifythenegativebehavioras
smoking.
3. Evaluatetheconsequences
“Wewillgetintrouble”,“smokingisnothealthy”,“Iwillgetkickedoutoftheschool”
Example:Ifsomeoneisbeingpeerpressuredtosmoke,theyshouldunderstandthatsmokingisnot
goodforyouandwillhavenegativeconsequencesphysicallyandfinancially.
4. Suggestanalternative
“Whydon’tweleaveschoolwhenschoolisdone?”,“whydon’tweplayasportinstead?”
Example:Ifsomeoneisbeingpeerpressuredtosmoke,theyshouldexplaintheiropiniononsmoking
andsuggestsomethingelse,suchasgoingtoacaféorwatchingamovie.
5. Leavethesituation
Ifallelsefails,removeyourselffromthesituation.Trytofindpeers
thathavesimilarintereststoyou.
Example:Ifsomeoneiscontinuouslybeingpeerpressuredto
smokeandtheytriedtheabovesolution,theyshouldstop
hangingoutwiththisfriend.
Strategiesagainstpeerpressure
àMakeajokeandchangethesubject
àSay“no”andkeepsaying“no”
àLeavethearea
àHangoutwithotherswhoshareyourbeliefs
àSuggestadifferentactivity
Examples
Negative
1. Isaacisonhiswaytoschoolwhenhisfriendrunsintohimandtellshimthatheandtheboysare
skippingschooltoplayvideogamesattheinternetcafé.Isaacknowsthatschoolisimportant
andknowsnottomisstheday,butdoesnotwanttolookuncoolinfrontofhisfriends.Heis
peerpressuredintoskippingschoolfortheday.
2. SooWinandMayTheingomeetupwiththeirfriendsbehindtheschool.Theyseetheirfriends
fromtheneighborhoodsprayingthebackofsomebody’shousewithspraypaint.Theirfriends
invitethemtojoin.SooWindoesn’tthinkit’sagoodideatodestructsomebody’sproperty,but
MayTheinthinksitwouldbefun.SooWinisconfusedaboutwhattodo.
3. LaylaisshoppingwithThea.Laylatakesabarofchocolateandsneaksitintoherpocket.She
handsanotherbarofchocolatetoTheaandtellshertoputitinherpocketaswell.Theaknows
thatstealingiswrongbutdoesnothavethemoneytopayforthechocolate.Sheispeer
pressuredintostealing.
4. Tazeemgoestoclasstofindoutthatthereisasurprisemathtest.Hedidnotstudyandis
worriedaboutfailing.HeexpresseshisconcerntohisfriendSibiandaskshimifhecouldlookat
histestforanswers.Sibiisscaredofgettingintroubleforcheating,butreallywantstohelp
Tazeem.Heisbeingpeerpressuredintocheating.
5. Mariogotinvitedtoapartywithallofhisschoolfriendsbuthismomisnotlettinghimgo.His
friendstoldhimthatitwasgoingtobethebestpartyever.Heispressuredintosneakingoutof
thehousetoattendapartywheretherewillbealcoholanddrugs.Heisnotsureifheshould
engageinthisbehavior,butallofhisfriendsaredoingitandhedoesnotwanttofeelleftout.
6. Doraissohappywithhercurrentboyfriendbutheisaskingheriftheycanhavesex.Herfriends
tellherthatit’sawesomeandthatsheshoulddoit,butsheisnotreadyforit.
7. Ahmedwalksintoschooltofindallofhisfriendspushingandbullyingaboyinhisclass.Heis
expectedtojointhembuthedoesnotwanttobullyanotherperson.Heisbeingpeerpressured
tobeabully.
Positive
1. MirohasfriendswhogoplayfootballeveryWednesdaynightbutshedoesnotthinksheisgood
enoughtojoin.Herfriendstellherthatpracticewillonlymakeherbetterandthatsheshould
comeoutandtry.Miroisbeingpositivelypeerpressuredintotryinganewsport.
2. Michalina’sfriendsareallgoingtoattendaworkshopwithIYAFPontheweekend.Shehasno
plansbutwantstobewithherfriends.Shedecidesthatshe,too,willgototheIYAFPworkshop.
3. Samirwantstoplaygameswithhisfriendsafterschool,buttheyareallstudyingforanexam
thattheyhaveattheendoftheweek.Hedecidestojointhem.
4. AndiiswalkingbackfromthestorewithhisfriendSandar.HeseesSandarrushingtohelpan
olderwomancarryherbagsoffruitbacktohermotorbike.Thattidecidestohelpaswelland
carriessomeoftheolderwoman’sbagstoo.
ROLEPLAYING:PEERPRESSURE
OBJECTIVES:
Bytheendofthesession,participantswillbeableto:
1. Identifyanegativebehaviororaction
2. Developverbalresponsestorejectpeerpressure
AUDIENCE:
Youthaged11-18
TIME:
Approximately45-90minutes(dependsonnumberofgroups)
MATERIALS:
• Whiteboardandmarker
• Peerpressuredice(seehowtomakethediceonthefollowingpages)
PROCEDURE
1. Afterreviewingthegroundrules,writethewordsPEERPRESSUREontheboard.Askyouthwhat
theythinkthismeans.
2. Engageinadiscussionexplainingwhatpeerpressureisandwhyithappens.Provideexamples
(seeexplanations/examplesabove).Makesurethateverybodygetsachancetospeak
3. WritePOSITIVEandNEGATIVEontheboardandtalkaboutthedifferentkindsofpeerpressure
andthendiscusshowtodealwithit.
4. Aftergivingtheparticipantsexamplesofeachkindofpressure,bringoutthepeerpressuredice
(seehowtomakethediceonthefollowingpage)andaskthemtogetintogroupsof2-4people.
5. Eachgroupwillrollthedieonceandwillhavetocreateascenariobasedonthepeoplecausing
thepressureandwhatthepressuretodois.
a. Forexample,ifyourolla“friends(neighborhood)”witha“smoking”,thenthegroupwill
havetocreateaskitwheresomebodyrejectstheirneighborhoodfriends’pressureto
smoke.
6. Explainthateachskitshouldbebetween5and10minutesandshouldinclude:
a. Anintroductionofthecharacters
b. Anegativepeerpressure
c. Apersonrejectingthepeerpressure
7. Giveeachgroup15-20minutestopreparetheirskittopresenttothegroup
8. Havethegroupspresenttheirskits
9. Engageinadiscussionaftereachskit.
Discussionquestions:
a. Howdiditfeeltobethepersonpressuredintodoingsomething?
b. Whataresomeotherwaysinwhichthepersoncouldhavedealtwiththesituation?
Dice:printandcutoutalongthelines.