Peer Pressure: The Phase That Can Determine Your Life

Smoke had filled the room for about ten minutes now. My two friends were sitting on the window frame, vaping to their hearts’ content. By then, they were already high and continuing to tell me how I should join them. The smell made me cough in disgust as the question of “why” filled my mind.  I continued to wonder why I was still there.  I was on the other side of the room on my phone and just tried shrugging it off. Then, one of them got up, still very high, and handed me a vape. As he handed it to me, he said, “You can’t be the only one not doing it.” Millions of teenagers around the world are faced with many similar predicaments. The desire to fit in commonly overrides safety and their knowledge of right and wrong. It can be minor things such as wearing certain clothes, talking a certain way, or eating “correctly”. It can also become a more serious issue, such as reckless driving, vaping, or taking drugs. It has been noted that “risk-taking behaviors during adolescence contribute to high rates of unintentional injury (Sleet et al., 2010; Turner et al., 2004) and are a leading cause of death among adolescents in the United States (Heron 2016)" (McCoy, 2017). Risk-taking actions are commonly made because of the desire to fit in. This desire is also called peer pressure. According to Prerana Baruah, “Peer pressure is defined as the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitude, values, behaviors in order to conform to group norms” (2016).

Overall, peer pressure isn’t always wrong. It can be very beneficial in sustaining social norms, such as wearing clothes in public, but it can also lead teenagers down the wrong path. Peer pressure isn’t a singular power but can be divided into several different ways it impacts people. The first division is “peer involvement (i.e. involvement in peer social activities, such as spending free time with friends, attending parties, and school social events)” (Studer, 2014). This construct of social pressure, peer involvement, has no true ability of being beneficial or destructive. Instead, it is what can lead to damaging or necessary actions. Said differently, it is the foundation from which peer influence arises.

Secondly, peer pressure, the act of conforming to others, also leads to more severe actions, which are labeled “misconduct (i.e. use of substances, unsafe sex, and minor delinquent behaviours)” (Studer, 2014). Drugs will alter their personality and cause them to do unsafe tasks. It is also illegal for minors, which then makes them delinquents to the law. Unsafe sex can cause life-long consequences and will force the teenagers to consider options such as abortion. This can only occur when an adolescent is involved in social activities and peer involvement, which overall isn’t wrong.

Thirdly, there is also a less damaging group of actions that peer pressure called “peer conformity (i.e. conformity to peer norms such as dressing or grooming styles, and musical tastes)” (Studer, 2014). Peer conformity occurs after the step of becoming active in society. It contains minor actions that aren’t always labeled as harmful to society. Following societal patterns is a common way of life and doesn’t necessarily cause people to break their moral conscience. However, certain societal norms can go against some beliefs. This includes the common Christian rule of waiting for sex until marriage, even though unmarried sex is socially acceptable. When this happens, peer pressure does become destructive once again.

Fourthly, there are also more specific places in our lives that peer pressure can affect a person and these are “involvement in school (e.g. being agreeable with teachers, working as diligently as possible), and involvement with family (e.g. obeying parents, showing respect for adults)” (Studer, 2014). Both of these are positive consequences of peer pressure. They can lead to better grades and a more beneficial home life for teenagers. They don’t need very much social involvement as a foundation for these types of pressures. However, they still require the adolescent to be active enough to have relationships in their school and family. Overall, it’s important to note how each form of peer pressure begins with being socially involved. Community is a common and vital piece for every human-being. When it is absent, it causes other problems such as depression and major anxiety. This issue won’t be mentioned, instead, the focus will be on those who are involved with their communities around them.

Minors are affected in several ways through these domains of peer pressure. During adolescent years for children, it can be easy for the parents to lose focus. However, it is important to continually be checking on their psychological well-being. When a person is in a positive psychological well-being period, it is the state “of a mentally healthy person who possesses a number of positive mental health qualities such as active adjustment to the environment and unity of personality (Shek, 1992)” (Omisola, 2022). It is common for teenagers to lose this state of mind and go into the “moody state” instead. The “moody state” is commonly seen as the grumpy teenager who prefers to remain more distant from family or friends and is more irritable at times. An increase of negative peer pressure can lead to this mentality. They can become more distant or depressed in their everyday actions. It’s important for parents to notice this and try to help their adolescents. Instead of remaining blind to the power of peer pressure, Christian parents should keep both eyes open to its beneficial and destructive effects within society, paying specific attention to the aspects of partying, driving, and how it shapes our society. They should continually utilize the power of a firm foundation with strong religious roots, impactful discipline, and high self-esteem.

Peer pressure, negative and positive, can create different mind states depending on how it affects the minor. One major distinction could be gender. Studies show a variety of answers to how it differs. For instance, “Studies have shown that early adolescents perceive social status and risky, defiant behaviors to be more closely associated with male popularity and peer approval…” (McCoy, 2017). While there is a large quantity of research pointing to this, there is also a notable amount saying that “males and females may experience peer pressure for different types of risky behaviors (Brown 1982; Brown et al. 1986b), but when all the types are combined, as was done for most articles included in this review, overall gender differences may disappear” (McCoy, 2017). Overall, there isn’t a definitive answer to which gender suffers more. What is known from this is that males definitely face a strong amount of social pressure in how they act towards others, how they drive, provide for their families, and the list goes on. While it may be less, females also face a lot of peer pressure in their lives. This is more commonly seen with the idea of the “perfect” body, causing them to feel pressure to skip meals and be the skinniest in the school. Since both genders face similar peer pressure, even if they aren’t identical, specific pressures due to one gender won’t be examined.

The function of the brain during adolescence is also important. During the developmental stage in adolescence, certain pieces of the brain are being changed. This leads to a weaker state for children and less resistance to peer pressure. According to John Coleman’s book, The Psychology of the Teenage Brain, the brain is composed of several sections: frontal, middle, and hind. The frontal brain contains four lobes: frontal (problem solving), parental (sensory), occipital (sight), and temporal (sound and memory). Past these four lobes is the diencephalon, which contains several sections that transmit signals from the rest of the body to the brain. This all meets at the mid brain, connecting the frontal brain to the hind brain. The hind brain contains the brain stem (carries signals from the spinal cord) and the cerebellum (bodily balance). Inside the layers of the brain is also the amygdala, which is the part that controls emotion.

The major pieces of the brain that are affected by peer pressure are the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, and the amygdala. In other words, these pieces of their brain are being reshaped and modified throughout the adolescent years. This leads to failures in judgement and decision-making, creating a stage of weakened resistance to peer pressure. This is because “during adolescence basic executive function task assessing working memory (WM), inhibition, or task switching are associated with increased activation in the parietal cortex…” (Dumontheil, 2016). Since there is too much activity in the parietal (sensory) and frontal (mental processing) lobes, they can’t function properly. This leads to a lapse in decision making, problem solving, and overall clear thinking. Then, there is the amygdala, in which “cortical regions…show decreased grey matter volume and cortical thickness during adolescence, while amygdala volume increases during adolescence, and striatum volume decreases during adolescence” (Dumontheil, 2016). Decreases in grey matter, the processing portion of nerves, lead to a lack of control of the amygdala. With this element of the brain out of order, the teenager’s emotions are also out of control. This can lead to an increase of mood swings and in lapses of judgment. Brain development isn’t always identical in its direction. Different pieces of the brain can begin to go through change depending on their age. This change is seen to be the body reworking itself. Some parts are broken down; while others are built up. More neuronal pathways are created, and old ones are broken down. This happens in a random order throughout adolescence. This is why teenagers are seen to go through “mood swings” throughout their adolescent years. At some points their frontal lobe is being developed, which can lead to fewer thoughts and a more aggressive nature. A year later, the same adolescent may have less aggression but feel more emotional, due to the development of the amygdala. This process is similar to the idea of creating pottery. A potter must slowly reshape distinct parts of the clay at different times to create a masterpiece in the end. Due to this inconsistency throughout adolescence, this paper will look at a variety of ages. It will range from twelve to nineteen years old. This is the range where the most growth is witnessed in the brain. Therefore, this is the time when they are most susceptible to peer influence.

With the brain going through development, adolescents are seen to not have the same decision-making skills as they did prior to development. This lack of reasoning “results…that adolescents, but not young adults or adults, exhibited increased risk taking when observed by their friends” (Trogolo, 2022). This is a main reason for focusing on adolescents. Before this stage of life, there is little change in the body that could cause such emotional surges. After adolescence, the brain is mostly developed in the decision-making areas affected by emotion.

This stage of life seems to be purely negative or destructive with the presence of peer pressure. It seems to be a hopeless stage for teenagers that humanity would be better without. However, “this process of transition has a way of determining if an adolescent will develop a good or poor sense of self, maintain good relationships with others and even build strong psychological wellbeing later in life” (Omisola, 2022). These are very essential tools to make a well-rounded adult later on in life. So, it’s not only harmful and can lead to beneficial habits in the future as well. There are several paths that the development of the brain can produce. During this time, it’s up to the parents and the adolescent’s foundation to decide a majority of their future based on how they respond to other influences. It’s important to see how peer pressure can affect this period of time. It was noted that “adolescents’ susceptibility to peer pressure from their close friends predicted future responses to negative peer pressure and poor psychological wellbeing, and decrease in popularity” (Omisola, 2022), illustrating how impactful these pressures can become to adolescents. These peer influences can show what one will do in negative settings with a reduced chance of harm. Instead of discovering how adolescents will behave with peer pressure at a party or in a car, they experience it in smaller ways. This could be noticing if a friend pushes them to lie or gossip about others. If the teenager complies, it shows less resistance to peer pressure than those who wouldn’t in the future. This isn’t a perfect prediction but can help parents see their children’s response to pressure from their friends.

Negative peer pressure is the most frequently thought of aspect of peer influence. It is easy to look at only the major powers of negative peer pressure and how they can be very problematic "because in adolescence the brain is particularly vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol. Drinking during puberty has been associated with brain impairments in adulthood, which leads to a higher risk of developing alcohol use and anxiety disorders following youth" (Perez-Fuentes, 2020). This is a very damaging part of peer pressure, but it isn’t the only effect. It can also change how people dress, what they eat, and even talk. Wearing certain clothes, while it could cause punishment from their parents or schools, won’t damage their future self. In the same way, the way one speaks during their teenage years doesn’t commonly affect them negatively in the future. However, there are also more common and more dangerous actions to adolescents that can be caused by peer pressure. These acts have a far greater chance of impacting one’s future and should never be overlooked by parents. This isn’t limited to but contains both underage drinking and risky driving. However, it is not forgotten that there are many other ways that peer pressure can be used negatively.

Here is one of the most common stereotypes for high school students: the common Friday night where everyone just wants to relax. Instead of watching a TV show on the couch, they get in their car and go to a party. After an hour at the party, everyone is drunk and “living the high school dream.” Some people might have said to their parents that they weren’t going to drink and that they were stronger than their friends. However, they were incorrect and succumbed to the influence of their peers. There are several reasons that can cause them to give in, specifically with drinking. According to Science Direct, these reasons can be divided into four distinct motives. There are the positive reasons for adolescents being social and enhancement motives. Briefly, these gain the teenager social acceptance and a “good feeling”. There is also the desire to not feel left out or need to forget painful memories with conformity and coping motives. These reasons are labeled as more negative motives for the adolescent to desire drinking. Any of these motives can also explain why adolescents would engage with drugs and other harmful substances. It only takes one of these motives to encourage an adolescent to follow their friends’ actions.

Beginning with the positive motives, it's important to note the word “positive”. Positive generally means beneficial, but in this instance, it signifies a desire to continue the “happy feeling” and not lose it. There is a positive feeling from both, “social motives (e.g. drinking because it makes social gatherings more fun) [and]…enhancement motives (e.g. drinking to get high)” (Studer, 2014). Social motives will come in the form of being chanted at or constantly pushed into drinking. It can happen at a party, where everyone is excited and wanting to continue the excitement. In other words, they wouldn’t want to ruin it by not being like everyone else. There is also the extra component of desiring to feel the effects of drinking. From the portrayal in movies and pop songs, becoming drunk can seem very appealing to adolescents. This then creates a positive desire to understand those feelings.

However, there are also negative motives as well. Once again, this definition of negative isn’t identical to how it has been used so far. It normally means destructive, but in this case it fits better with the idea of desiring to feel better. Negative reasons are mostly seen with “conformity motives (e.g. drinking to not feel left out)” (Studer, 2014). Conformity focuses on the desire to fit in, instead of already feeling accepted in a community. This motive requires someone to already feel left out. This could be a nerd or bully who desires to be found favorable with others. They then feel a pressure to drink because others are already drinking. Adolescents who are going through something, such as their parents divorcing or the loss of a relative, may also feel the pressure to cope with alcohol. So, they try it, attempting to gain the “good feeling” that their friends mentioned. Either of these motives, positive or negative, are harmful to the user and should never be ignored by parents.

There is more than just the pressure to conform itself but also a sub-level cause of self-esteem that affects their resistance. Self-esteem is an “important variable for understanding risk behaviors such as drinking, which drive behavior and influence adolescent subjective wellbeing...low levels of self-esteem have been associated with substance use and the development of an excessive drinking pattern maintained over time” (Perez-Fuentes, 2020). In other words, those with low self-esteem are more susceptible to peer pressure. This is the common example of a high school student who feels out of place. They don’t view themselves positively, which results in conformity and the easy manipulation from other students. Adolescents may feel that they are currently weird, small, or just don’t fit in, so they desire to become more popular.  Many times it will begin with doing things for other people to try and be accepted. It will eventually lead to doing more harmful tasks, such as drinking alcohol at parties to fit in. However, if one views themselves positively and carries a high self-esteem, they will be better off overall. They won’t need to follow the crowd or be manipulated as easily into doing things for the attention of others. Parents should encourage this and help create it by building their self-esteem at home.

A key aspect mentioned earlier was the benefit of feeling “good” that peers will push on their fellow students. It has been noted that “positive expectations about the results of drinking by adolescents minimize the perception of risk and facilitate the startup and maintenance of drinking habits” (Perez-Fuentes, 2020). While positive expectations given by wise mentors in someone’s life can be beneficial, in the case of immature teenagers, it is very dangerous. The more the student looks positively at things such as alcohol, the more likely they are to be pressured into its effects. For parents, one might want to truly look at how much they are talking about alcohol positively to their children. A few cold beers with some friends may seem harmless, however, it can become a very dangerous habit to repeatedly be showing a child. It’s also important to note that while these aspects of peer pressure seem specific to drinking, many of them are extended to the general realm of the pressure to conform. Drinking is a very dangerous form that is affected by peer pressure and is very common in today’s world.

Positive expectations of underage drinking overall are harmful; however, they aren’t the only damaging aspects of peer pressure. There are also some problems that can happen besides the pressure to drink alcohol, such as how “drunk driving is estimated to be present in at least 50% of all road accidents involving youths (Anderson and Baumberg, 2006)” (González-Iglesias, 2014). This statistic includes both adolescents and adults drivers. However, student drivers are more prone to accidents because they have less experience driving. The desire for positive effects of alcohol is another reason. They believe that they will gain a “rush” also known as a surge, of adrenaline, when they take risks on the road. This “rush,” is highly increased when there are other students in the car. The “theory of reasoned action (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980) holds that the decision to adopt a given behavior is governed by positive and/or favorable attitudes to that behavior, as well as to the presence of a supportive social environment…” (González-Iglesias, 2014). While it is considered a “supportive social environment” it is not beneficial to the adolescent. The support in this case is a pressure to drive dangerously. This could be drinking before getting in the car or just speeding way over the limit. No matter what the effects are, it risks the harm of those in the car and those around it.

The effects of negative peer pressure, among many more, are the reason for the idea of peer influence being deemed as very harmful to adolescents. However, it doesn’t always have a destructive result. Instead “positive peer pressure can influence thoughts as well as actions. When an individual begins thinking more positively about the outcomes of his/her self-talk and actions, their entire attitude and outlook on life can change for the better” (Prerana, 2016). In other words, positive pressures, the push to do something beneficial, from adolescents can lead to an increase in positive psychological well-being.

There is also the fact that without peer pressure there would be a lack of social order, such as wearing clothes in public or being polite to others. This pressure isn’t a direct push from an individual but a common desire to be like everyone else. If they didn’t submit to society, they would feel awkward in public and would be shamed for their actions. It is true that “a certain amount of conformity is helpful to keeping social order…Basic conformity to social norms such as rules of etiquette facilitate social interactions and leave cognitive space for contemplating other more difficult social issues and processes” (Dumontheil, 2016). Without peer pressure there wouldn’t be the rules of society, such as wearing clothes in public and certain interactions with others. They keep the basic rules of society intact, so that they can work on the less standard parts of society.

Societal norms aren’t the only positive impact of peer pressure; there is also the benefit of an increase in desire for education. There are several reasons of this, such as the period “when students become increasingly responsive and able to learn from negative feedback, which may have implications for education” (Dumontheil, 2016). In other words, negative feedback creates a pressure for a student to learn. This happens because the student feels the need to excel like their other classmates. There is another effect of peer pressure in schools that was discovered by Steinberg, a neurologist, where is stated that “teenagers learn more quickly and more effectively when their peers are present than when they are on their own” (Prerana, 2016). This can occur because students feel pressure by their peers to excel as well as their fellow students. There is the common desire to get A’s in school. This is because many students desire to do their best, and in this pursuit, they push each other to do the same. It can be in the presence of negative or positive ways, but they still push them to do so.

While driving with a friend can be potentially more dangerous, it can also lead to safer driving. It was noted that the “differences in driver risk taking did depend on passenger presence and passenger characteristics; the presence of an older female passenger reduced risk taking, whereas a male passenger increased riskiness” (Shepherd, 2011). It’s important to be careful who is the passenger. This finding discovered that an older and wiser passenger may lead to a safer drive. This is because instead of a desire to show off how reckless one can be, they show off how strong of a driver they are. Generally, it is noted that when an adolescent is with their parents, they tend to drive more safely. The reason is because they desire the approval of their parents who have been driving longer.

However, it’s not always true that younger passengers are damaging to their peers. A second experimental study “found that peer passengers can have a positive effect in improving safe driving practices by telling drivers when their driving is unsafe” (Shepherd, 2011). This can be when an adolescent tells their friend that they aren’t as safe a driver as them. There can then be a competition created by the adolescents to be safer drivers. Overall, there are several ways that peer pressure can impact driving. It can either cause the student to be safer or more dangerous. The reason for the effect does vary however, age can but doesn’t always play a major impact in it.

Now, the effects of peer pressure have been explored. It has been noted that there are beneficial and destructive effects of pressure from adolescents. However, it is time to examine peer influence as a whole again. While it seems daunting to parents of adolescents, there is still hope. From all of the experiments that enabled us to understand the power of peer pressure, it was concluded “that resistance to pressure increases in a linear fashion among adolescents, but not among preadolescent and young adults…between 14 and 18 years of age…is the most significant for the development of the peer pressure resistance” (Padilla, 2023). In other words, there are a few years when they are at their weakest and then they can become more resistant again. As James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (English Standard Version, 2025). James tells us that God blesses those who struggle through hard times but remain strong throughout. This can be the basics of exposing adolescents carefully to the power of others and constantly illustrating how to be strong in the Lord. So, for the parents of adolescents, if they have trust in the Lord throughout, they will be blessed in the end.

However, trusting in the Lord, but then doing nothing isn’t what God calls Christians to do. Parents should instead be very active. There have been many studies that “have isolated two basic components of parental socialization…The first dimension is indicated by an assortment of affective, nurturing or companionate types of parental behavior” (Smorti, 2014). This approach by parents helps give teenagers a positive relationship with their parental figures. It helps give the adolescents a desire to make wise decisions and keeps a more impactful relationship with their parents. However, it needs to be kept in balance. While the sole presence of strong discipline can be damaging, solely nurturing and having no rules can lead to similar problems. Adolescents may begin to believe that their parents don’t care about their actions and will test the limits of this idea. This gives the result of teenagers being easily influenced by their peers because they weren’t taught any better.

There is also the opposite side to the balance of parenting. The alternate version of a beneficial “parenting attribute is defined by a range of parental regulating and disciplinary behaviors that are intended to shape the child’s behavior in a manner that is acceptable to the parent” (Smorti, 2014). This is important because without set rules, the adolescent will not have the important structure of wrong and right. They will be easily influenced to do things with negative consequences because they don’t believe they are wrong. This would take the practice of life lessons to fix, such as forcing them to see how poor decisions will affect them on their own. As mentioned before, there needs to be a balance between strict rules and nurturing of the child. A healthy balance keeps teenagers away from bad influences and gives the parents a chance to have a major impact on their child’s life. Therefore, it’s important for parents to create and keep this balance in their parenting.

There has been a tendency noted that peers’ “behaviors and attitudes is highest when adolescents perceive the relationships with their parents as negative or lacking in support and guidance…” (Smorti, 2014). A lack overall of a parent or guardian can also damage the adolescent. When teenagers don’t have that figure in their life, they either don’t properly learn the rules or don’t care about them. It’s important to always be involved because otherwise students may not have the necessary foundation when trials come. Without the correct background, they will conform when pushed by others to drink a little alcohol or drive dangerously.

Driving has been seen to have positive and negative effects from peer pressure depending on the age and type of person. Because of this, “…parents can also monitor and restrict which friends may be invited into the car…Adolescents with high levels of parental monitoring and behavioral control are less likely to engage in risky driving and to report traffic violations and crashes…” (Smorti, 2014). Instead of being absent from their child’s driving, it is very important for parents to do the exact opposite. A wise action for parents would be regulating who their children are driving with and when as well. While some friends could be fine during the day, at night parents should be even more cautious with their passengers. This is because night driving is already harder and riskier without adding passengers that might try and negatively influence an adolescent driver. This could be going to a party at night or drinking and driving. There are more common practices during the night that parents should be aware of when deciding who their teenagers should drive with and when.

While it is important for parents to be involved in the discipline and nurturing of their child, it is also necessary to look at different influences that can help protect adolescents from negative peer pressures. It was discovered that “overall, the findings suggest that religiosity can contribute to adolescents making positive choices amid negative peer influence…Given family variables can also impact both religiosity (experience with a religion) and adolescent conduct” (Grier, 2011). In other words, family attention to having beneficial experiences with religion, in this instance Christianity, can be very impactful to increasing peer influence resistance. The moral teachings and life structure can build an adolescent’s resistance to harmful influences. As it says in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world,[a] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (2025). God is the only one that can give us the positive, “good feeling” that we strive for when we conform to peer pressure. With this realization alone, there is already a foundation built that won’t crumble when the things of Earth fail us. It’s important for parents to teach this and many other aspects of the Bible to their children. Another way parents can help create this structure in the children is by being an impactful example and taking their children to church events. It is a very beneficial and worthwhile task to help adolescents become more resistant to peer pressure. Church events will give the children exposure to beneficial communities that can help protect them from harmful influences later on.

Peer pressure has been seen to have many negative effects on adolescents. A major cause can be how, “Self-esteem represents self-acceptance and self-approval of one’s own values and judgments, that is, whether one perceives oneself in favorable or unfavorable terms” (Perez-Fuentes, 2020). Parents should be careful to help develop their child’s self-esteem instead of damaging it. In other words, how the adult speaks and overall interacts with their kids. If a parent makes their kid feel like less of a person at home, they will feel the same elsewhere. This will make them more susceptible to pressures in those areas. This can be in ways of talking down to their children, telling them specifically that they are less, or just a lack of a parental figure as well. These can all make the child feel insignificant and desire the approval of other adolescents.

However, it has been noted “how individuals who have high self-esteem feel good about themselves, which leads them to behavior that protects or improves their health and wellbeing” (Perez-Fuentes, 2020). The exact opposite reaction has been seen with the exact opposite actions. When parents encourage and are present for their children, it only benefits their psychological well-being as mentioned above. This causes more stability in their identity, which increases their resistance to peer pressure.

What about the question of is it worth building this resistance? The answer is yes. The story at the beginning happened only two years ago in my friend’s bedroom. However, that wasn’t the ending. It presumed that I had taken the vape as well. However, when he pressured me to take the vape, I said no. They continued to hound me for about two months to just take one hit from it. Every time, I thought about my parent’s teachings and my own Biblical foundations and I didn’t do it. Through the guidance of my God and my parent’s advice, I eventually convinced both friends that what they were doing was wrong. Only two and a half months after that story, I was in a small woods in the Carmel West Clay neighborhood. There, I was smashing both vapes that my friends had tried to pressure me into taking, into the ground to never be found again. However, that wasn’t because of me. It was because I had the self-esteem, the support from my faith in God, and the foundation from home to say no. I had that foundation because God gave me my parents who helped build my foundation and high level of self-esteem. When I think about this moment, I remember Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (2025). It wasn’t through my power but because God had given me the resources to be strong. Without that, I might be desperately waiting for the next moment when I can go home and vape.

Overall, peer pressure isn’t a little thing. It’s not easy to prevent, nor is it powerless. While the average adult has a decent amount of resistance, adolescents aren’t usually as strong against it. This may damage relationships and lead to the bodily harm of teenagers. However, it can also increase education and safety in certain circumstances. It’s a vital piece of civilization as well; without it many “social norms” wouldn’t be normal to life. So, peer pressure is vital to sustaining a society but also has the potential to be destructive to it. Many children have been seen to fold under the pressure to drive a certain way or attend a party they know they shouldn’t. It’s easy to want to become popular or at least fit in.

Acceptance is key to this stage of life. For me, I wanted to be accepted by my friends and vape with them. Those friends began vaping because they wanted to follow the crowd of their friends. People dress certain ways and go to parties all because they want to fit in. However, if parents give strong backgrounds in what is right, then they have a much better chance of resisting it. I stood up to my friends; other teens, with the correct background, reject the pressure to conform and be like everyone else. It’s not easy for them, but when they know the right morals they are much more likely to follow them.

However, it’s not enough to only raise children in the presence of an impactful background but to pour this knowledge into them as they grow up. Imagine two friends, one of them has intentional parents who pour their knowledge into their children continuously among other ways. However, the other child is raised in the presence of a Christian household but not so intricately guided in his faith by his parents. The first child, who is strong in his faith, will generally be more resistant to peer pressure. The friend, however, is more likely to be susceptible. This is because he was raised with the solutions to be strong around him but was never guided to the answers. Parents having intentional time and guiding their children is a much more impactful way to cultivate their resistance to peer influence.

So, parents need to consider several things when dealing with peer pressure. It is important to understand that the weakness to peer influence is a stage of life due to brain development. In other words, this is natural, and like everything else in life, it will get better.  However, briefly, it is important to understand that nobody is perfect. They will falter at some points. I chose to resist the urge to vape with friends but was still in the room with them. However, the imperfection of man is what makes us human and creates the necessity to rely on God. It is what teaches us the lessons that we can give to others in the future. Through my failing to leave the situation, God gave me two blessings. He allowed me to aid my two friends in their time of need. He also provided me with a lesson I will never forget and can always use to build others up. Once again, it wasn’t me that said no but the cultivation from God who provided me with my parents. They gave me the thoughts that concluded in a “no” that day, not me. The actions or lack of actions that parents make means everything for their children. It’s not a stage of a child's life to be ignored but to walk through it with your eyes wide open.

References

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Beatriz González-Iglesias, B., Gómez-Fraguela, J., & Luengo, A. (2014). Sensation Seeking and Drunk Driving: The Meditational Role of Social Norms and Self-Efficacy. ScienceDirect, 71(1), 72-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2014.05.006

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