EVALUATING THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE BEHAVIORS OF ADOLESCENTS INFLUENCED BY THEIR PEERS

Donnavelle R. Abella, Clarice G. Antatico, Melanie Jane D. Bande, Anthony N. Bernal, Matug A. Nawal, EJ Kyla M. Valdez

Abstract.  This study aimed to determined what are the positive and negative behavior of adolescent influenced by their peers. Particularly, it determined what are the most and least influential positive and negative behavior of adolescent influence by their peers.

This study used descriptive research design. The respondents are the 50 senior high school students from STEAM strand of Southern Christian College in Quezon Avenue, Poblacion 5, Midsayap, Cotabato during the second semester of school year 2016-2017. The pertinent data were obtained from the responses of the respondents.

The major research findings are briefly stated as follows: the most influential positive behavior of adolescent influenced by their peers is being participative in school activities and building positive self-confidence which consist of 43(86%). Moreover, the least influential positive behavior is consisted of 4(8%) which stated that their peer makes them happy despite of problems. On the other hand, 22(44%) of the respondents said that going late for school is most influential negative behavior of adolescents influenced by their peers. Furthermore, none of the respondents said that they take illegal drugs, did cigarette smoking and join in gangs and fraternities.

Key words:  Adolescents, Behavior, Influence and Peers.

Introduction. Adolescence can be a time of both disorientation and discovery. The transitional period can bring up issues of independence and self-identity; many adolescents and their peers face tough choices regarding schoolwork, sexuality, drugs, alcohol, and social life. Peer groups, romantic interests, and external appearance tend to naturally increase in importance for some time during a teen's journey toward adulthood. Also, adolescence is a time for developing independence. Typically, adolescents exercise their independence by questioning and sometimes breaking rules. Parents and doctors must distinguish occasional errors of judgment from a degree of misbehavior that requires professional intervention. The severity and frequency of infractions are guides. For example, regular drinking, frequent episodes of fighting, truancy, and theft are much more significant than isolated episodes of the same activities. Other warning signs include deterioration of performance at school and running away from home. Of particular concern are adolescents who cause serious injury or use a weapon in a fight (Levy,2016).

Peers and family have a key role in promoting health during adolescence, as well as, the perception that youngsters have of their quality of life and subjective well-being. Health does not depend solely on the delivery of health care during illness; on the contrary, influence of different settings may be crucial (Gaspar & Matos, 2008 as cited in Tome, et.al, 2012). According to Bongers, Koot, Van der Ende&Verhulst (2008) as cited in Tome, et.al (2012) behavioral problems that occur during infancy and adolescence (particularly external problems, such as substance use and violence behaviors) may continue throughout adulthood, associated to social non-adaptation, substance abuse and conflicts. On the other hand, having friends allows to share experiences and feelings and to learn how to solve conflicts. Not having friends, on the other hand, leads to social isolation and limited social contacts, as there are fewer opportunities to develop new relations and social interactional skills. Friendship is also positively associated to psychological well-being (Ueno, 2004 as cited in Tome, et.al, 2012), whilst a conflicting relation with peers is negatively associated with health (Laftman & Östberg, 2006 as cited in Tome, et.al, 2012).                         Adolescents with reciprocal friendships mention high levels of feelings of belonging in school; at the same time, reciprocity and feelings of belonging have positive effects in academic results (Vaquera & Kao, 2008as cited in Tome, et.al, 2012).

Statement of the Problem

            This study will attempt to answer the following questions:

1.      What is the rate of adolescents’ positive behavior within their peers?

2.      What is the rate of adolescents’ negative behavior within their peers?

Objectives of the Study

            This study will seek to determine:

1.      The most and least influential behavior of adolescents within their peers.

2.      The most and least influential behavior of adolescents within their peers.

Significance of the Study

            This study will be beneficial to the following:

Adolescents. Through this study, adolescent will able to know themselves, to determine their good and bad sides. In addition, this will help to develop and improve one’s self.

Parents. For them to be aware and educated about their children’s behavior. With that, they can know how to guide adolescents in right path.

Teachers. For them to be informed and handle adolescent’s positive and negative behavior.

Future researchers. This study will serve as their basis for further investigations about this phenomenon.

Scope and Limitations

This study determined the most and least influential positive and negative behavior of adolescents influenced by their peers in Poblacion 5, Midsayap, Cotabato specifically in Southern Christian College senior high school students in STEAM strand.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents some major concepts, ideas, and findings on the positive and negative behavior of adolescent influenced by their peers.

Adolescence

Adolescence in and of itself is a period of human development marked by many changes, transitions and both positive and negative behavior. Today’s adolescence has unique experiences and issues not encountered by previous generations (Drysdale and Rye, 2007). The end of adolescence and the beginning of adulthood varies by country and by function. Furthermore, even within a single nation state or culture there can be different ages at which an individual is considered (chronologically and legally) mature enough for society to entrust them with certain privileges and responsibilities.

Adolescence is usually accompanied by an increased independence allowed by the parents or legal guardians, including less supervision as compared to pre-adolescence.

Peer Group Influence

A peer group is a social group that consists of individuals of the same social status who share similar interests and are close in age. Learn about peer groups, how they influence socialization during childhood and adolescence, and more (Williams, 2016). Peer groups provide perspective outside of the individual’s viewpoints. Members inside peer group also learn to develop relationships with others in the social system. In ways similar to the community, the peer group becomes an agency of enculturation and learning. Socioeconomic status, ethnic identity, and parents’ occupations affect how families view themselves and the process by which they socialize their children (Bornsteina, 2002 as cited in Barbour & Scully, 2016). Later, as children leave the home setting, their self-perception and socializing skills become influenced by how their peers view them. Peer influence on behavior gradually become more dominant. Barbour and Scully (2016) stated that peer groups have an even stronger influence than that of parents, although that extreme position has been refuted by other researchers (Berk, 2005 as cited in Barbour & Scully, 2016). Gradually, children discover that others can share their feelings or attitudes or have quite different ones. The perspectives of others will affect how children feel about their own families. Children usually have a “family” view of their own and of other cultures. It is often difficult for children to adjust to the idea that other families can function radically differently from their own and yet hold many of the same attitudes and beliefs and be equally nurturing and secure. The peer group serves as a barometer for children examining themselves and their feelings about self and family (Barbour & Scully, 2016).

Negative and Positive Behaviors of Adolescents

Many adolescents today have problems and are getting into trouble. After all, there are lot of pressures for kids to deal with among friends and family. For some youth, pressure including poverty, violence, parental problems and gangs. Parents and their teenagers are struggling between the youth’s wanting independence while still needing parental guidance. Sometimes all these conflicts result in behavior problems.

Any number of isolated behavior problems can represent adolescent problems and delinquency-shoplifting, truancy, a fight in school, drug or alcoholic ingestion. Sometimes adolescents cannot explain why they act the way they do. They may be just as confuse about it as the adult, or they simply see delinquent behaviors as appropriate ways to deal with what they experience. Parents and love ones may feel scared, angry, frustrated or hopeless. . All these feeling are normal, but it is important to understand that there is help available to troubled adolescents and their families. Also, negative effects of peer pressure include doing drugs, smoking, shoplifting, cutting class, having sex, drinking alcohol, physical violence, going late in school, low academic performance(Jenuhho,2008).  Adolescents may not only associate with more deviant peers but also be more susceptible to negative peer influences.                

The transition from adolescence to adulthood is characterized by intensified contacts with peers and an entrance into new social context and activities. The relevance for adolescents to achieve intimacy goals, such as closeness and trust, shifts from towards peers (Drysdale and Rye,2007).

The peer group also influences development of children’s socializing skills. These early friendships help children learn how to negotiate and relate to others, including their siblings and other family members. They learn from peers how to cooperate and socialize according to group norms and group-sanctioned modes of behavior. The peer group can influence what the child values, knows, wears, eats, and learns. The extent of this influence, however, depends on other situational constraints, such as the age and personality of children and the nature of the group. Socialization is particularly important for children with disabilities, and it is the reason many programs include peers who are typically developing in special education programs or include children with disabilities in general education classrooms (Barbour & Scully, 2016).

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design, locale of the study, respondents of the study, sampling procedure, research instruments, data gathering procedure.

Research Design

            This study used descriptive survey research design in evaluating positive and negative behavior of adolescents within their peers.

Locale of the Study

            This study was conducted in Poblacion 5, Midsayap, Cotabato particularly in Southern Christian College.

Respondents of the Study

            The respondents of this study were 50 senior high school students from the different sections of STEAM strand, officially enrolled at Southern Christian College during the 2^nd semester of S.Y 2016-2017. They will be selected using random sampling.

Research Instrument

            To gather the needed data of the study, researchers used a researcher-made survey questionnaire.

Data gathering procedure

            This study was conducted during the second semester of S.Y. 2016-2017 to the senior high school under STEAM strand of Southern Christian College, Midsayap, Cotabato. A letter will be send to the teacher/adviser of senior high

school under STEAM strand and researcher’s adviser to seek permission for the conduct of the study. Upon approval, the questionnaire will be administered by the researchers to the respondents in the school campus specifically during their vacant time.

Data analysis

The result of this study was analyzed through content analysis and will be presented by themes.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

This chapter presents the results and discussions of the study about the evaluation of positive and negative behavior of adolescents influenced by their peers in Southern Christian College, S.Y. 2016-2017.

Table 1. Frequency and rank of the positive behavior of adolescents influenced by their peers.

Positive Behavior of Adolescents Within their Peers	F	%	Rank
1. Study lesson well	35	70%	7th
2. Participate in school activities	43	86%	1st
3. Engage self to sports	25	50%	10th
4. Build self-confidence	43	86%	1st
5. Better decision making	32	64%	8th
6. Improved and develop skills and talents	40	80%	3rd
7. Be a responsible student	37	74%	6th
8. Make you happy despite of problems	4	8%	11th
9. Provides you comfort when needed	41	82%	2nd
10. Avoid vices and other bad habits	37	74%	5th
11. Choice in terms of education	27	54%	9th
12. Sharing homework	38	76%	4th

Table 1 shows that 43 (86%) says that being participative in school activities and building self-confidence are the most influential positive behavior of adolescents influenced by their peers followed by 41(82%) that their peers provides them comfort when needed. Next, 40 (80%) says that they improved and develop their skills and talents with their peers. Then, 38(76%) says that they are sharing homework. Following the 37 (74%) which says that their peers influence them to avoid vices and other bad habits. Moreover, 37 (74%) says that they become a responsible student. Additionally, 35(70%) states that they study lesson well because of the influence of their peers. In 32 (64%) respondents said that their peers influence them to have better decision making. Also, 38 (76%) said that their peers affect their choices in terms of education. 25(50%) says that they engage themselves in sports due to the influence of their peers. Finally,4(8%) stated that their peer makes them happy despite of problems, this shows that it is the least influential positive behavior of adolescents influenced by their peers.

The result correlates on the study of Barbour and Scully (2016) that peer group also influences development of children’s socializing skills and they learn from peers how to cooperate and socialize according to group norms and group-sanctioned modes of behavior.

Table 2. Frequency and rank of the negative behavior of adolescents influenced by their peers.

Negative Behavior of Adolescents Within their Peers	F	%	Rank
1. Cut classes	5	10%	7th
2. Going late for school	22	44%	1st
3. Littering	12	24%	5th
4. Hurting or insulting others without caring one's feelings	15	30%	3rd
5. without caring one's feeling	4	8%	8th
6. Destroying school belongings	3	6%	9th
7. Retorting teachers to his/her face	0	0%	11th
8. Play computer games	15	30%	4th
9. Take illegal drugs	0	0%	11th
10. Cigarette smoking	0	0%	11th
11. drink alcoholic beverages	9	18%	6th
12. Hang out in night clubs and bars	2	4%	10th
13. do against parent's will	5	10%	7th
14. Join gangs or fraternities	0	0%	11th
15.Cheat during exams	18	36%	2nd
16. Undergone premarital sex	2	4%	10th

Table 2 shows that 22(44%) says that going late for school is the most influential negative behavior of adolescents influenced by their peers. Followed by 18(36%) that they cheat during exams. Then 15(30%) said that they were hurting and insulting others without caring one’s feeling and they are playing computer games because of their peers. Moreover, 12(24%) of our respondents said that they litter due to peer influence. In addition, 9(18%) said that they were influenced by their peers to drink alcoholic beverages. 5(10%) said that they have done things against their parent’s will due to peer’s influence. Then, 4(8%) that they don’t care about the feelings of other. Next, 3(6%) that they were destroying school belongings. Also, 2(4%) says that during night-time they hang out at the night clubs and bars and they have experienced premarital sex due to peer influence. Lastly, none of the respondents said that they take illegal drugs, did cigarette smoking and join in gangs and fraternities because of peer influence.

This affirms the study of Jenuhho (2008) that negative effects of peer pressure include doing drugs, smoking, shoplifting, cutting class, having sex, drinking alcohol, physical violence, going late in school, low academic performance.

CONCLUSION

Based on the results gathered, the most influential positive behavior influenced by peers was being participative in school activities and helping them in building self-confidence followed by providing comfort when needed while the least influential was making them happy despite of problems in which the researchers concluded that peers are not just made to provide happiness to adolescents but also they can help to boost their confidence to develop their personality, skills, and capabilities.

On the other hand, the most influential negative behavior was going late for school followed by cheating during exams while the least influential were retorting teachers to his/her face, taking illegal drugs, cigarette smoking and joining gangs or fraternities. Therefore, the researchers concluded that peers may have positive influence but they can also bring negative behavior to adolescents such as the aforementioned statements.

In addition, though going late to school and cheating during exams where one of the most influential negative behaviors among peers still it is not a hindrance for them to be participative in school activities and be confident.

References

Barbour, L. & Scully, D. (2016). Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Adolescence. McGraw-Hill Contemporary Learning Series.

Berk, M. (2005) as cited in Barbour & Scully (2016). Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Adolescence. McGraw-Hill Contemporary Learning Series.

Bongers, Koot, Van der Ende&Verhulst (2008) as cited in Tome, et.al (2012). Behavioral Problems of Adolescents. Retrieved from http://www.behavioral-problems-of-adolescents-1321

Bornsteina, C. (2002) as cited in Barbour & Scully, 2016) Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Adolescence. McGraw-Hill Contemporary Learning Series.

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Drysdale, M. & Rye, B. (2007). Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Adolescence. McGraw-Hill Contemporary Learning Series.

Gaspar, A. & Matos, J. (2008) as cited in Tome, et.al, (2012). Peers and Family. Retrieved from http://www.peers/and/family-importance.

Jennuho, G. (2008). Negative Effects of Peers on Adolescents Behavior. Retrieved from http://www.negative-effects-of-peers-on-adolescents-behavior

Laftman, M. & Östberg, P. (2006) as cited in Tome, et.al, (2012). Peers and Family. Retrieved  from http://www.peers/and/family-importance.

                       

Levy, T. (2016). Peer Pressure Warning Signs. Retrieved from http://www.peer-pressure-warning-signs

Ueno, D. (2004) as cited in Tome, et.al, (2012). Peers and Family. Retrieved  from http://www.peers/and/family-importance.

                       

Vaquera, A. & Kao, K. (2008) as cited in Tome, et.al, (2012) Peers and Family. Retrieved from http://www.peers/and/family-importance.

Williams, H. (2016). Peer Group Influence. Retrieved from http://www.peergroup-influence-socialization-1361