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Part One Personal Development
Peer Infl uence During Adolescence
At this time of your life, your peers are probably very important
to you. You share many experiences with them that contribute to
the development of your personality. Your friends can be a source of
strength and reinforcement. Such peer influence is natural and even
essential in the development of healthy adolescents.
As an adolescent, you are searching for an identity (sense of who
you are) and social acceptance. You are particularly vulnerable to
peer pressure. Peer pressure is the influence exerted by a person’s age
group. Many young people go along with their peers’ choices, thinking
they are asserting their individuality. In reality, they are conforming to
(fi tting in with) the decisions made by others.
Peer pressure is a powerful force in establishing conformity,
especially during the adolescent years. Most people want to be accepted
by their peers. However, if your choices simply reflect your friends’
choices, you will not be learning the process of decision making. You
may become dependent on others to make your decisions for you. It is
important to remember that you can make your own choices. You should
not have to conform to the choices of your peers to be accepted by them.
If your friends are influencing you toward behaviors that go against
what you think is right, it will be necessary for you to stand up for what
you believe. Those peers who are truly your friends will admire you
more for adhering to your convictions.
Loyalties between your friends and you may be tested if they have
principles unlike yours. If you become aware that your principles are
quite different from those of your friends, you may wish to become
closer to people with whom you have more in common.
Learn to identify and live by your own beliefs. If they are similar to
those of your friends, it simply indicates your ideas and lifestyles are
similar. Your choices should be your own, though you can benefi t from
sharing ideas with others.
Your Education
Your educational environment provides another important influence
on your personality development. A positive school environment provides
you with information and problem-solving skills, 2-5. It also gives you a
sense of yourself as a learner. Whether your individual learning style is fast
or slow is of minor significance. The important thing is that you learn to
the best of your ability. An appreciation for learning will equip you to seek
information to help you solve problems throughout life.
A positive educational environment teaches other useful skills as
well. Students learn to relate effectively to authority fi gures, such as