Various Aspects of Peer Relations in Adolescence that Correlates Both Healthy and Deficit Issues

Question:
Peer groups, both dating and friendships, are a significant time for a socially developing adolescent. Discuss the various aspects of peer relations (ie. social skills, peer pressure, dating/sexual, substance abuse, academics, etc.) in adolescence. These may include mental health issues related to a healthy AND deficit in a social support system.

Answer:
Adolescents, like adults, respond most strongly to the beliefs and expectations of people they respect and admire and of people they interact with regularly. Peer pressure does not come equally from everyone who is of the same age. Nor do
those whose opinions matter appear out of nowhere. Adolescents often choose as their friends peers with beliefs and values like their own. As a result, what looks like peer influence is often similarity among like-minded peers who selected each other because they were similar.

Peer groups often establish unstated norms for their members' behavior that distinguish them from other peer groups. For example, most high schools have cliques of athletes, musicians, serious students, socially oriented or popular students, rebels, and outsiders. These groups have different statuses, forming a prestige hierarchy. The peer groups with the highest status are often the "jocks" and the popular crowd, distinguished by expensive clothing and attractive physical appearance. How adolescents view the status of their own peer group as compared to other groups can affect their self-esteem (Santrock, 2001; Steinberg & Morris, 2001).

While adults sometimes chide adolescents for not valuing academic achievement and pro-social behavior, the so-called peer culture in most high schools accurately reflects the place of celebrities in sports and entertainment in our society. Peer relationships occur on a one-to-one basis, as well as in groups. One-to-one peer relationships are most likely to form between adolescents who see each other as similar in some ways; for example, having the same interests... Peers who choose each other for pairs or groups can reinforce their similarities. And sometimes their influence on each other can be in opposition to parents’ influences and to adult societal values. Above and beyond what may be considered “curiosity” or “experimentation,” many youth report pressure to engage in risky and addictive behaviors which leads to mental health issues such as drinking alcohol, smoking, using illegal drugs, and engaging in sexual activities. Some peer groups actively discourage striving to succeed in school and otherwise conforming to conventional behavioral expectations. However, peers may also cultivate values that adults readily label positive: hard work, academic achievement, loyalty and other forms of prosocial behavior (Santrock, 2001).


Peer influences also depend on an individual’s place within peer networks. Some individuals are generally popular and well liked. Popular youth have close peer relations, and tend to be friendly, intelligent, and funny. They tend to want to conform to the expectations of those who make them popular. Other youth elicit strong but divergent reactions — they are well liked by some of their peers and strongly disliked by others. They have to choose which peers to try to please. Still others are unpopular; they are widely ignored or actively disliked. They will be influenced by the rejection of some of their peers and usually find solace, and another source of influence, in the company of other rejected youth.

Further Question:
In regards to adolescents choosing peers with beliefs and values of their own, what do you think about culturally melting pot cities that have a wide diversity of familial values, practices and beliefs within school districts? There are some similar ethnic students that group together but not all. How do you account for those adolescents with an ethnic diverse peer group in regards to shared values and beliefs?

Answer 2:
A bi-cultural identity is developed most of the time (388, Santrock). They identity some way with their ethnic group, and in other ways with their peer culture. I believe this is a very health development as teenagers learn to appreciate different cultures as they grow up. Usually these teenagers grow up to become more culturally sensitive and tolerance of others with different opinions.

As in the case for adolescents with an ethnic diverse peer group but shared values and beliefs, this is a very common phenomenon in New York as I observe. They identify with their parents ethnically and celebrate ethnic festivals, but at school they learn from their peers and the society about the mainstream culture, and thus develop shared values and beliefs. It is interesting how I myself learn to think a lot more like the mainstream western culture - individualistic and assertive, even though I worked with people from very different ethnic backgrounds for the short few years I lived in New York. I believe the shared values and beliefs from peer groups actually stick better than ethnic cultural identity. What do you think?


Answer 3: I think this is also evident with new immigrants and refugees new to a country. The children often want to related to their peers and their new culture, but trying to fit in. But this can create a lot of tension in the home. I feel sorry for both parties, mom and dad are trying to maintain cultural identity, but their child is trying to fit in and soon the distance starts.


Questions for all:
So far we have discussed acculturation, and it is stressful on family systems as parents are more rooted in the primary culture and children, particularly adolescents, want to "fit in" to the new culture and tend to adapt more quickly. Do you think it is possible to maintain the primary culture and adapt to the new culture too or does one have to choose? Why?