Positive Impacts of Peer Pressure: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This paper is a view to understand how positive peer pressure can be instrumental towards promoting healthy social and emotional developments in adolescents, define the extent to which positive peer pressure is associated with healthy behaviour and emotional well-being and identifying different ways by which positive behaviour is encouraged by peer pressure. Peers play a very important role in the overall social and emotional development of children and adolescents. Peer pressure is a very common phenomenon that most of us are familiar with. Peer pressure often appears to be negative, but not necessarily. When one's peer influences an individual to think and act in ways that changes an individual's thoughts, actions and lifestyle for better, it is called positive peer pressure. There is a huge pool of research on the negative influences of peer pressure; however, the extent of literature on positive peer pressure is quite limited even though it has potential for positive development. Research paper published between January 2000 to December 2015 has been taken from Jstor & Google scholar and 12 relevant articles were selected for review. The present study throws light at the fact that peer pressure can exert positive influences in the development of individuals, especially during adolescence when peer acceptance becomes an integral goal of their lives Hence, by paying equal attention to the positive aspects of peer pressure in addition to the negative aspects we will able to explain how positive peer pressure can be influential in their overall social and emotional development.