Peer Group Essay

Peer groups are one of the most impactful social forces that most, if not all, adolescents will experience in their lives. The teen years which range from thirteen to nineteen years of age are known for the drastic mental, physical and psychological changes that accompany them. During these years, it’s common for many adolescents to experimented with different styles, hobbies, drugs, etc. in an effort to “find themselves”. It is also common for parents to disagree and find faults with what their children are doing and in these situation, peer groups peers are where adolescents find support and acceptance. Peer groups usually consist of people who are roughly the same age, have a similar socioeconomic status (SES), and interests. Kiran-Esen

The coping mechanisms that we select will affect which peers we develop closer bonds with – for instance, if one choosing to get involved in sports to relieve stress, they will be surrounded with athletes and hence become a part of the athletic peer group. However, as stated by Miller (2010), it is not necessary for one to consider someone a friend in order for the two to influence one another. Additionally, adolescents without sibling support have to compensate through peer groups for the lack of friendship and outside of family, peer groups provide the crucial social skills allowing them to deal with conflicts among peers (Zhao and Goa,

Sidhu wrote of the important role that her peers played in questioning the morals and values that were passed on to her by parents. A recent discussed “friendship ties and construction of gender identity among girls in a multicultural context” (Rysst, 2015, p. 490). The paper concluded that when children are younger, they stick by their own way of life, however, once puberty develops, so does awareness of the other cultures and that resulted in a “hybrid” culture in which the female students adopted views from the other cultures that they agreed with (Rysst, 2015). The study hints that exposure and knowledge of the different culture is the first step into understanding and learning to co-exist with said cultures. Moreover, being raised in an environment with various cultures and religions allows “[students to] develop their own views in a reflective way” (Raihani, 2014). The study which studied the importance of creating a culture of religious tolerance found that it improved cultural capital as well as making the children not just more tolerant to other religions, but other differences (ethnicity for example) as well. This is important where multiculturalism is a key part of the culture; being ethnocentric or ignorant would not get an individual very far.