The Positive Influence of Others

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you a good person is the greatest accomplishment. Adolescents face various kinds of problems these days, which highly impact their decisions. Peer pressure is one of the major problems of our society for which people have misconceptions, that it leads to negative results. It is the influence of the peer group on its member to do the same as others in order to be admired by them. It does not always lead to a wrong direction because if the adolescents of our society are more educated than they can easily differentiate between what is good and what is bad for them. Positive peer influence helps them to cope with risk-taking behavior. In his article, Positive impacts of peer pressure: A systematic review, Aroonmalini Boruah, a psychologist in Dibrugarh University, notes: According to the stress adjustment learning buffering model of social relationships, social connection and support provide individuals with the psychological resources to cope with stress, thereby decreasing the likelihood of achievement motivation, engaging in risky behavior as a means of coping(2016). Peers have a positive influence on the behavior of a child because it leads to improvement in academic performances and increases social development skills.

Positive peer influence leads to improvement in academic performance.

The positive peer pressure will lead to higher levels of engagement which will provide a sense of belonging to the adolescence and motivates them in learning and academic achievements(Boruah 2016).

Some adolescents were found to score good grades in comparison to previous standards as a result of the change in peer groups, who scored the best grades in the class. They did not only focused on academics, but there was an inclination in getting involved and participating in several extracurricular activities in school(Das 2016).

Positive peer pressure develops social skills in children.

The peer helps to share experiences and feelings which help to solve various conflicts of adolescents. On the other hand, those without the presence of positive peer pressure will lead to social isolation and limited social contacts and will have fewer opportunities to develop new relations and social skill(Boruah 2016).

Some opponents say that peer pressure increases risk-taking behavior among teenagers.

In its negative form, peer pressure may be exercised in a variety of areas all including drug abuse, engaging in misconduct, sexual activity, and conformity to patterns of preference on dress, music or entertainment. At times, peer pressure pushes them to indulge in high-risk behavior or actions that can bring them into direct conflict( Goel and Malik 2017).

In short, peer pressure has a positive influence on children, which leads to improvement in academic performance and development in social skills. Positive peer group encourages to adopt good habits and gives emotional support. It helps to enhance the personality of a person. A good peer group supports you during stress and stands with you in difficult situations. In all, positive peer pressure supports good behavior, encourages to set goals, accomplishes academic performance, and social development.

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