GOVIND BALLABH PANT UNIVERSITY OF

AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY, PANTNAGAR

COLLEGE OF COMMUNITY SCIENCE

Department of Human Development and Family Studies
HHD-322 Dynamics of Marriage and Family

PEER PRESSURE AMONG UNDERGRADUATE

STUDENTS
‘Peer Pressure Scale’ by Sunil Saini and Sandeep Singh (2010)

Submitted by: Submitted to:

Priya Nakoti (59529) Dr. Ragini Mishra

Anjali Rawat (59534) Asst. Professor

Kajal Singh Gusain (59738)

PEER PRESSURE AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
ABSTRACT
Peer pressure is the direct or indirect influence on peers i.e. members of social groups with
similar interests, experiences, or social statuses. To study the effect of peer pressure among
adolescents and young adults with age ranging from 18-22 years. The total sample of 50 which
include 9 boys and 41 girls. The samples were collected from college of community science, G.B.
pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. The
questionnaire filled up by the candidates was ‘Peer Pressure Scale’ designed by Sunil Saini &
Sandeep Singh (2010). After taken the consent questionnaires were filled up by the candidates.
This research reveals that all age groups were under same level of peer pressure. The gender
revealed that level of pressure was higher among females as compared to males. The age
showed that adolescents and young adults had similar level of peer pressure.

INTRODUCTION
A peer is a person who belongs to the same societal group based on age, grade, or status, while
a friend is a person whom we are attached to by affection or esteem. Peer pressure is feeling
pressure from other age-mates to do something in spite of their unwillingness in that work.

Peer pressure is a well-known psychological effect. People adjust their opinions and behaviors
to fit within the group. The origin of this effect can be found in prehistory when fitting within
the herd was necessary to survive. Currently it is often associated with adolescence copying
smoking and drinking behavior. Peer pressure was already demonstrated in 1951 in a famous
experiment by Solomon Asch. In this experiment he showed a group of 8 participants a card
with one single line and a set of 3 lines in different length.

For decades, scholars have pointed to peer relationships as one of the most important features
of adolescence. Peers have been alternately blamed for some of the more problematic aspects
of adolescent functioning and praised for contributing to adolescent health and well-being.
Recently, researchers have pushed the study of peer relations in exciting new directions, using
more sophisticated methodologies to explore understudied aspects of adolescent peer
relationships and mechanisms of influence. (Brown and Larson,2009).

It is well-established that adolescents are more likely than children or adults to take risks, as
evinced by elevated rates of experimentation with alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, unprotected
sexual activity, violent and non-violent crime, and reckless driving (Steinberg, 2008). Identity
crisis is faced with role confusion, in other words, these children are trying to find a sense of
belonging and are the most susceptible to peer pressure as a form of acceptance. (Erikson,
1968)

Peer pressure is broadly defined as any attempt by one or more peers to compel an individual
to follow in the decisions or behaviors favored by the pressuring individual or group (Sim & Koh,
2003). Peers play a crucial rule in a child's development by shaping his/her normative beliefs
and interpretation of information regarding rick activities (Cox & Cox, 1998). Peer pressure
exists as the mutual effect of close friends and that the type of friendship determines the
degree of influence (Cohen, 1983). If the relationship is homophilic with regard in a particular
attitude or behavior, friendship selection anchors the individual's preexisting attitude or
behavior pattern. However, if the new friend has a different attitude or behaviour, so that the
friendship is heterophilic, there may be attitude or behavior change via influence from one
person to another (Maxwell, 2002). Cross behavior analyses shows that boys who smoke
cigarettes and drink alcohol are significantly more likely to have friends with similar behaviours
compared to boys who dip snuff and chew tobacco (Hunter et al., 1991).

Adolescence is the time of experimentation during which teenagers start interacting with their
age mates and seek sensation in new experiences. Researchers’ have pointed that peer
pressure is related with many risky behaviours e.g. cigarette smoking (Evans et al., 1998),
alcohol consumption (Thorliondsson & Vihajalmasson, 1991), illegal drug use (Jenkins, 1996),
body dissatisfaction (Shroff & Thompson, 2006), sexual intercourse (Billy & Udry, 1985) and
teen pregnancy (Harris, 1998). Studies have shown that friends play an important role in both
harmful and positive activities (Berndt, 1999; Mounts & Steinberg, 1995; Wentzel, 1999),
Adolescents are particularly susceptible to peer influence due to personal and social demand.
Therefore, early measurement of peer pressure may have important implication in intervention
for reducing peer pressure to further reduce its impact in risky behaviors. Many researches
have been published on adolescent problems but we did not find any independent measure
that covers relevant information regarding everyday peer pressure that teenagers feel from
their age-mates. Therefore, the need was felt to develop Peer Pressure Scale (PPS) to meet all
the dimensions of adolescent peer pressure.

Peer influence research has demonstrated the powerful role that peer relationships may have
in shaping behavior during adolescence. Several theories have been proposed to explain
mechanisms of influence between peers. Behaviorally the based theories stress reinforcement
by peers for specific content (e.g., antisocial topics) within a social interaction. This
reinforcement serves to organize the dynamics of interpersonal interactions around that
content, creating a shared culture within the friendship. Identity-based theories of influence
describe individuals as seeking to maximize their perceived status and self-concept, leading
them to imitate the behaviors of others who may be of a desired prototype or higher status. A
number of moderators of peer influence have been identified, lending support to these
mechanisms and to the power of contextual and relationship factors in shaping adolescent
outcomes. Youth with low social status or a poor self-concept may be highly motivated to
improve their self-image. These youth will likely find the behaviors of higher status peers
particularly salient and tend to behave in such a way as to increase acceptance and minimize
exclusion by peers. Furthermore, youth with poor self-regulation may be more responsive to
the short-term reinforcement offered by peers, making them more susceptible to peer
influence. Peer influence research has begun to have a significant impact on public policy,
highlighting the dangers of iatrogenic effects that can result from group interventions for
antisocial youth.

It is important to note that while much of past research in peer influence has focused on its
potential negative impact, adolescents are undoubtedly influenced in positive directions by
their peers as often as they are in negative ones. Future work examining peer influence may
increasingly focus on understanding the role of adolescents' contexts in encouraging beneficial
relationships with their peers. Through a better understanding of the impact of specific features
of schools, families, neighborhoods, and interventions on peer influence, these environments
may be shaped so as to reduce negative effects of peer influence and increase positive peer
relationships. Given the importance of peer relationships during adolescence, such efforts may
hold considerable potential in maximizing positive outcomes for youth.

Objective

To study the level of peer pressure among adolescents and young adults.

MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY

Locale

The present study id conducted at G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology. In that
the College of Community Science is chosen. The university is in Udham Singh district of
Uttarakhand.

Sample

The total sample of the current research study is 50 in which 9 were males and 41 were females
within the age group 18-22 years. The sample was collected from students of College of
Community Science, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Udham Singh Nagar,
Uttarakhand.
Description of tools
Peer Pressure Scale by Sunil Saini & Sandeep Singh (2010): This scale was grown mostly for the
explanation that young issues are expanding step by step and peer pressure is one of the main
considerations in impacting such issues among them. Friend pressure is related with numerous
withdrawn actives and unsafe practices among young people, e.g., smoking, drinking, sedate
maltreatment, street rage, auto collisions, and rule infringement net open spots. This manual
depicts the ideas of friend pressure is one of the central points in impacting such issues among
them. Friend pressure is related with numerous withdrawn exercises and hazardous practices
among youth for example smoking, drinking, sedate maltreatment, street rage, auto collisions,
and rule infringement at open spots. The 62 things created by the creator child the premise of
audit of writing and looking over existing related measures. The things determination was
trailed by two stage system. The test can be regulated independently just as in a little gathering.
It takes around 20 minutes to answer all things of the scales. It is a self-report 5-point Likert
scale estimated on five classifications, i.e., emphatically Disagree (5), Disagree (4), Can't state
(3), Agree (2), Strongly Agree (1).
The base and most extreme score extend in 25-125. High score is deciphered as high friend
pressure and low score demonstrates less peer pressure. Test-retest unwavering quality is the
list of a measure's steadiness after some time acquired by connecting the outcomes from two
events of appraisal. For the examination of test-retest unwavering quality (worldly security
coefficient), 25-things scale was utilized for the underlying information assortment. The
coefficient of transient steadiness was estimated by utilizing Pearson item – minute connection
technique, and interior consistency of the scores was estimated by utilizing Cronbach's alpha.
The results obtained indicated high test-retest reliability (r=0.33**, p<.01) and internal
consistency (=0.77**).

Data Collection

The current data was collected through google forms which consisted of questionnaire based
on ‘Peer Pressure Scale’ developed by Sunil Saini and Sandeep Singh (2010). The verbal consent
of the candidates was taken.

Result and discussion

Table 1 Background profile of respondent (N=50)

Variables n %

Gender
1. Male 9 18%
2. Female 41 82%
Age
1. 18-20 36 72%
2. 20-22 14 28%

Socio-demographic table reveals that the majority of the respondents are female. The highest
percentage of their age is between 18-20 i.e., 72%.

Table 2 Percent distribution as per Peer Pressure Scale (N=50)

Level n %

Low 27 54%

Moderate 20 40%

High 3 6%

The percent distribution table deduces that the greater part of the sample is under low to
moderate peer pressure.

Conclusion

The research reveals that adolescents and young adults tend to experience same level of peer
pressure. The effect of peer pressure declines as an individual undergoes maturation.
REFERENCES
1. Peer Pressure among Undergraduate Students: A Study on Tezpur University by Miss
Neelam Sahu

2. The Influence of Peer Pressure on College Students and the Countermeasures by Ziyu
Chen 1, Ϯ; Yazhi Deng 2*Ϯ

3. Study on levels of peer pressure among adolescents by Ms. Umashankari. V1*, Dr. Kiran
Babu N C2, Moutusi Daspurkayashtha3

4. The effect of peer pressure on value orientation of adolescents and young adults by
Karnika Anand1*, Dr. Nikhat Kaura2