Peer Pressure in Adolescence: Boundaries and Possibilities

Peers are important element in adolescent socialization; their influence increases with the age of children, and decreases with the acquiring of independence from parents and forming an individual identity. Early adolescence is a period in which peer pressure is strongest. The aim of this research is to examine the susceptibility to peer pressure in adolescence, its relationship with some adolescents? characteristics (self perception, anxiety, depression, attachment to peers) and parental behaviour. Sample consisted of 938 adolescents from four cities in Croatia, ages 12 to 18. In all aspects boys perceived themselves as more susceptible to peer pressure than girls. Those who are more susceptible to peer pressure show higher levels of emotional problems, more difficulties developing secure relationships with others, which is related to higher social anxiety (i.e. fear of rejection and abandonment) in peer relations, and lower global self-worth. The second set of variables which makes difference among adolescents with high and low susceptibility to peer pressure denotes parenting behaviours with positive parenting as a crucial discriminative factor.