1. As an adolescent, did you have any experiences with peer pressure where there was
experimentation with alcohol and/or drugs? These experiences could have been
direct experiences that you were involved in or they could have been indirect
experiences, where you witnessed other peers experience peer pressure during
adolescence.
The experiences that I have had with peer pressure involving alcohol and drugs are from my own
personal perspective. Drugs and alcohol have always been available to me ever since I could
remember, and the pressure to use first came from other family members as well as friends from
school. Even though growing up I swore that I would never touch alcohol because of the way
that my father was, I ended up drinking by the age of fourteen and it started with peer pressure.
There were times when people that I was very close with would be drinking or using and
encouraged me to participate with them very early on.
2. Describe the scenario where peer pressure occurred for alcohol and/or drugs?
(Describe the example where the peer pressure occurred)
In 1990, when I was in junior high school, me and my friends would hang out at a park after dark
on the weekends. Obviously, this was before cell phones, internet, and any of the technology that
most kids have today to keep them occupied. We would mostly just wander the streets, and one
night a couple of friends of mine at the time had stolen a bottle of vodka from his parents’ house.
We all took turns taking swigs from the bottle and finished it off. There was this intense pressure
to drink, namely due to gender stereotypes and not wanting to appear weak around my other
male friends.
3. What factors do you think contributed to the outcome and response of all
individuals involved in the scenario? For instance, describe what factors contributed
to the person who was being peer pressured and describe what factors contributed
to the response of the person who was administering the pressure.
Well, the pressure to drink came from two of my older friends who were used to drinking by that
time, and there were about four of us who had never drank before including me. The pressure to
fit in with the older friends, and the competitiveness of the others were a big factor in all of us
drinking that night. None of us wanted to look weak or to stand out as being afraid to try it. The
older kids also wanted to look like they knew what they were doing and thought they were more
superior to the rest of us, so they had to uphold their “rank” of the group and show off in a way.
They felt like they were showing us something “cool”.
4. Based on the scenario of peer pressure provided, do you think things could have
been handled differently, and if so, how could things have been handled differently?
Thinking about it now, the easy answer is to say that we all should have just said “no”. It felt like
once one of us did, the rest of us just joined in. If there was any way that it could have been
handled differently, I would have to say that from experience simply not putting yourself in that
situation to begin with. It also could have been avoided if I had friends who had better
judgement. The pressure was so strong that I still did it even when I knew what kind of damage it
had done to me with my own father. My willpower was gone just because I wanted to “fit in’.
experimentation with alcohol and/or drugs? These experiences could have been
direct experiences that you were involved in or they could have been indirect
experiences, where you witnessed other peers experience peer pressure during
adolescence.
The experiences that I have had with peer pressure involving alcohol and drugs are from my own
personal perspective. Drugs and alcohol have always been available to me ever since I could
remember, and the pressure to use first came from other family members as well as friends from
school. Even though growing up I swore that I would never touch alcohol because of the way
that my father was, I ended up drinking by the age of fourteen and it started with peer pressure.
There were times when people that I was very close with would be drinking or using and
encouraged me to participate with them very early on.
2. Describe the scenario where peer pressure occurred for alcohol and/or drugs?
(Describe the example where the peer pressure occurred)
In 1990, when I was in junior high school, me and my friends would hang out at a park after dark
on the weekends. Obviously, this was before cell phones, internet, and any of the technology that
most kids have today to keep them occupied. We would mostly just wander the streets, and one
night a couple of friends of mine at the time had stolen a bottle of vodka from his parents’ house.
We all took turns taking swigs from the bottle and finished it off. There was this intense pressure
to drink, namely due to gender stereotypes and not wanting to appear weak around my other
male friends.
3. What factors do you think contributed to the outcome and response of all
individuals involved in the scenario? For instance, describe what factors contributed
to the person who was being peer pressured and describe what factors contributed
to the response of the person who was administering the pressure.
Well, the pressure to drink came from two of my older friends who were used to drinking by that
time, and there were about four of us who had never drank before including me. The pressure to
fit in with the older friends, and the competitiveness of the others were a big factor in all of us
drinking that night. None of us wanted to look weak or to stand out as being afraid to try it. The
older kids also wanted to look like they knew what they were doing and thought they were more
superior to the rest of us, so they had to uphold their “rank” of the group and show off in a way.
They felt like they were showing us something “cool”.
4. Based on the scenario of peer pressure provided, do you think things could have
been handled differently, and if so, how could things have been handled differently?
Thinking about it now, the easy answer is to say that we all should have just said “no”. It felt like
once one of us did, the rest of us just joined in. If there was any way that it could have been
handled differently, I would have to say that from experience simply not putting yourself in that
situation to begin with. It also could have been avoided if I had friends who had better
judgement. The pressure was so strong that I still did it even when I knew what kind of damage it
had done to me with my own father. My willpower was gone just because I wanted to “fit in’.
