What is Peer Pressure?

When your peers (friends or colleagues) try to influence your decision making process or your behaviour. As a result, peer-group pressure may cause an individual into behaving or deciding in a manner which pleases the group rather than themselves. Significantly peer pressure can be both positive (be health conscious) and negative (drink alcohol).

Self-Esteem.

Self-esteem is the way you feel about yourself. Accordingly, high self-esteem refers to believing and trusting yourself whereas low self-esteem leads to lack of self-confidence and vulnerability to peer pressure.

Assertiveness.

As distinct from aggressiveness, being assertive is having the ability to have your own way by sticking to your guns. In contrast, aggressiveness is about forcively (even using violence) imposing your will upon others. Here are some simple hints on how to be assertive:

• `Broken Record` technique (repeating what you want until you have your way)
• Avoiding triggers for peer-group pressures such as shouting drinks.
• Using a justification (even fibbing) to get your own way (eg: "Sorry, I can't have this drink because I have a headache")

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