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 2nd 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.
.
Drysdale,
M. & Rye, B. (2007). Taking Sides:
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Gaspar, A. & Matos, J. (2008)
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G. (2008). Negative Effects of Peers on
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Levy,
T. (2016). Peer Pressure Warning Signs.
Retrieved from http://www.peer-pressure-warning-signs
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D. (2004) as
cited in Tome, et.al, (2012). Peers and Family. Retrieved from http://www.peers/and/family-importance.
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H. (2016). Peer Group Influence.
Retrieved from http://www.peergroup-influence-socialization-1361
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