Helping Adolescents Deal with Peer

Pressure

*Developed by the Center for School Mental Health (http://csmh.umaryland.edu) in collaboration with

the Maryland School Mental Health Alliance.

Contents Peer Pressure Tips for Educators and Related Staff Positive vs. Negative Peer Pressure How to identify a troubled child

Warning signs Strategies to Help Children

Skill building activities Communication How to Say No

*Actual programs to implement in schools?

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Pressures Transition into middle school and becoming a

teenager can be very challenging for children. Some changes include added pressures from friends and peers.

Pressures are a normal part of life and children need guidance from their teachers, parents and other adults so that they are able to handle these pressures in a positive way.

Some of these pressures may be drugs, truancy, sex, shop-lifting, bullying, cheating, and any other action that a child may not want to do.

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What you can do? Make students aware of some of the pressures

they may encounter

Demonstrate the difference between positive and negative peer pressure

Provide suggestions and strategies to help children deal with peer pressure

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Positive vs. Negative Peer PressureNegative Peer

Pressure-Is often dangerous and

against school rules, home rules and personal values.

• Skipping school• Vandalizing• Smoking• Sneaking out of the house• Bullying• Disrespecting authority• Sex

Positive Peer Pressure-

Is often overlooked but does exist

and may be described as aninfluence to do what is right.

• Studying• Volunteering• Befriending someone• Community Service• Joining a sports team

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Identifying StudentsTraits putting students at a higher risk of falling to peer pressure

Low self esteem Lack of confidence Uncertainty about ones place within a given peer group No personal interests exclusive of one's peer group Feeling isolated from peers and/or family Lack of direction in life Depression Eating disorders Poor academic abilities or performance

Retrieved on January 3rd, 2007 from http://teenadvice.about.com/cs/peerpressure/a/blpeerpressure.htm CSMH-MSMHA 2006

Helping Children Deal with Peer Pressure

Steps children can follow when confronted with peer pressure:

Ask Questions“Why would we do that ?”, “Whose idea was this ?”, “Is this a smart

thing to do ?”

Identify the negative behavior or action “Calling her names is just going to start trouble”, “ don’t think

smoking is a good idea”, “It is against school policy to leave the grounds”.

Evaluate the consequences “We will get in trouble”, “Smoking is not healthy”, “My parents will

take away my allowance”

http://www.new-life.net/parent06.htm

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Steps continued: Suggest an alternative

“Why don’t we go to the store after school is over”

Leave the situation If all else fails, remove yourself from the situation. Walk away

and do something else

http://www.new-life.net/parent06.htm CSMH-MSMHA 2006

Positive and Healthy Ways to Deal with Pressures

Strategies for students to use:• Make a joke and change the subject• Say “no” and keep saying “no”• Leave the area

• Get help from someone you trust• Suggest a different activity

• Hang out with others who share your beliefs

Help students develop decision making skills

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Strategies to help children deal

1. Relinquish the stereotype of peers as a uniformly negative influence on youth.

2. Nurture teenagers' abilities and self-esteem so they can forge positive peer relationships

3. Empower parents and educators to help teenagers pursue and maintain positive peer relationships

4. Encourage cross-ethnic and "cross-class" peer interactions and guide teenagers in dealing positively with cultural diversity and individual differences.

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5. Place sensible restraints on part-time teen employment

6. Support parent education programs for families with teenagers

7. Establish intervention programs for preadolescents with low social skills or aggressive tendencies.

Strategies to help children deal

http://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.darnell/strategies_for_coping_with_peer_pressureCSMH-MSMHA 2006

Bullying Bullying can become a major problem for some

students and often students are pressured to involve themselves in these situations

It is important to identify and attempt to rectify these situations as they interfere with your students’ learning and development and potentially affect the overall functioning of your classroom.

Any child can fall victim to being bullied and any child has the potential to be the bully

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Steps towards an action plan for Bullying

1. Teachers must make it safe for students to report bullying Students must trust that teachers and administrators will respect the

anonymity of the student who reports information

2. Educators and related staff must be aware of all forms of bullying. Identifying intentions of bullying are:

There is a power difference There is a negative intention The behavior is repeated

3. There must be a clear and effective plan for dealing with the bully and the victim. Students must know the consequences of bullying.

Retrieved on February 5th 2007 from: http://www.bullybeware.com/tips.html

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Steps Continued4. School personnel must know about the different

types of bullies. Some victims are also bullies.

5. An effective tool for dealing with bullying is utilizing the masses who aren’t involved in bullying situations. These students can take a stand and prevent bullying incidents.

Retrieved on February 5th 2007 from: http://www.bullybeware.com/tips.html CSMH-MSMHA 2006

Possible Signs of Bullying:Watch for changes in the students behavior: Unwilling to go to school Feeling ill in the morning Withdrawal behavior Decrement in school performance Having books or clothing destroyed Truancy Stammering Becoming aggressive or unreasonableFor more information go to:http://csmh.umaryland.edu/resources.html/resource_packets/download_files/bullying_2002.pdf

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• Model pro-social behavioral that asserts self-worth of each individual student

• Actively observe student behavior in the classroom

• Speak with parents to see if additional stressors at home contribute to the bullying dynamic

• Include discussions of conflict-resolution in your lesson plan

What can you do to help?

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What can you do?• Ask school clinicians to present on consequences

of bullying

• Become familiar with the bulling prevention curriculum in the school

• If there isn’t one, start incorporating bullying curriculum in your lesson plans including knowledge, attitudes, and skill development pertaining to bullying

• Role play in the classroom to help students develop refusal skills

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What can you do?• Suggest that students stay together and walk in

groups when traveling to and from school and when outside during recess or lunch

• Meet with school administrators and help develop a bullying policy to implement school wide.

More information can be obtained from Dr. Ken Rigby at http://www.education.unisa.edu.au/bullying/

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Tips/Facts to help with Bullying

Understanding why children bully / victimize others is of key importance in initiating change of this behavior

Make it known that bullying and victimizing is not acceptable in your school and must be stopped

Managing bullying requires that the bullying behavior be firmly admonished and controlled

Counseling is essential and should be compulsory

Retrieved on February 12th 2007 from http://www.bmef.org/bullying.htm, created by Jenny MacKay of Educational Consultations: Australia Great Britain 1995

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Tips and Facts Continued Children who bully / victimize need to see themselves

differently, with opportunities to behave differently

The victim also needs to learn to act differently and be given opportunities to shine and show strength

Bullying and victimization require that the school, the teacher, the parent, the peers, but most importantly the child (bully and victim), take responsibility to learn to act differently 

Retrieved on February 12th 2007 from http://www.bmef.org/bullying.htm, created by Jenny MacKay of Educational Consultations: Australia Great Britain 1995 CSMH-MSMHA 2006

Useful Books and Online Resources

Olweus Bullying Prevention Program http://www.clemson.edu/olweus/

Take Action Against Bullyingwww.bullybeware.org

Steps to Respect: A Bully Prevention Program www.cfchildren.org/str.html

Blueprints for Violence Prevention: Book 9. Bullying Prevention Program (1999). By D. Olweus, S.Limber, & S.F. Mihalic; Boulder, CO: Center for the Study and Prevention of Violencehttp://www.clemson.edu/olweus/

Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Intervention for Bullying and Victimization (1996) By Richard J. Hazler

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Resources Continued

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• How to Say No and Keep your Friends: Peer Pressure Reversal for

Teens and Pre-Teens (1997). By Sharon Scott

• CAFS Teacher Talk Volume 1(3) 1996 http://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v3i3/peerpress.html

• Preventing Classroom Bullying: What Teachers Can Do (2003). By Jim Wright http://jimwrightsonline.com/pdfdocs/bully/bullyBooklet.pdf

• Stop Bullying Now! http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/index.asp

Resources Continued Resource for parents: http://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.darnell/advice_for_parents

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*Developed by the Center for School Mental Health (http://csmh.umaryland.edu)

in collaboration with the Maryland School Mental Health Alliance.