CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

This chapter deals with: the background of the study statement of the problem, general and specific objectives, research questions which are general and specific, justification of study, delimitations or scope of the study and lastly definition of terms.

Background Of The Study

Peer pressure according to lay mans point of view is a period when individuals or students have the urge to belong to groups within their schools or environment. These groups could be positive or negative.

According to Cherie and Berhane (2012). Peer pressure is the prime driver of risky sexual behaviors among school adolescents. That is when you think back to your adolescent years, many of your most enjoyable moments were spent with peers on telephone, at school activities, in the neighborhood, and on dates and dancing, or just fooling around.

They say the nature of peer relationships undergoes important changes during adolescence. In childhood, the focus on peer pressure relationships is often on being liked by classmates and being included in playground games, learning activities, or long room conversations.

In 1991, psychologist Stephnie wrote a book on “Adolescents relationship with peers”. She said: peer pressure is often used to describe instances where and individual feels pressure to change his or her behavior, to match that of his or her peers.

She further said: the students have a lot of feelings, pressure in subject and activities in their attitudes. That peer pressure effect depends on the group you belong to. It is very powerful because of every accompaniment with your friends; you will be able to cope and adapt their habits, either bad or good, only to have a sense of belongingness.

Peer relationship plays a powerful role in the life of adolescents. So because of this relationship, they have themself in risky activities like smoking, drinking, stealing, dating, they become aggressive, they get into drugs, they follow fashion and trends, for popularity. Do adolescents take cocaine if pressured by others or do they resist the pressure? This role that relation plays is not only negative but also positive, in the life of the adolescent.

Tarrant (2002) says peer groups serve as a source of information to one another. Those members inside peer groups also learn to develop with others in the social system. Peers, particularly group members become an important social references for teaching other members: customs, social norms, and different ideologies.

He further said that: individuals are pressured to belong to groups because they want to learn or teach gender roles in the group in which they want to belong.

Through gender roles save the sense of belongingness, socialization, members learn about sex differences, social and cultural expectations, while boys and girls differ greatly, there is no one to one link between sex, and gender role with males always being masculine and female always being feminine. Peer groups can have a great influence on peer pressure on each other’s gender role behavior, depending on the amount of pressure.

All of these are positive aspects of peer pressure. so, therefore, peer pressure can also have a positive influence and not only negative. Conformity occurs when individuals adopt the attitude or behavior of others because of real or imagined pressure from them. The pressure to conform becomes very strong.

Kevin (2001) says: conformity in peer pressure in adolescence can be negative or positive.

According to Brown et al (1986) one of the sources of teenagers’ acceptance, trust and understanding are their peers. They mostly replace their families with friends as a center of young individuals’ social life that about one thousand have been influenced by the pressure of their peers, and as a result, they become confused and will not know the kind of attitude to put on.

Teenagers not only engage in negatively conformed behaviors but also engage in positively confirmed behaviors. The negative aspect of it is that they use negative language, steal, vandalize, make fun of parents and teachers, they want to dress like others and want to spend a huge chunk of time with members of a clique.

Furthermore, conformity has both positive and negative effects on individuals. An individual may be pressured to join a group of friends when he or she realizes that these friends perform well in class. Also, driving on the correct side of the road could be seen as beneficial conformity.

Conformity influences the formation and maintenance of social norms and helps society function smoothly and predictably through the self-elimination of behaviors seen as contrary to unwritten roles.

Conformity in early childhood years allows one to learn, and thus adopt the appropriate behaviors necessary to interact and develop correctly within the society. Thomas (1979).

Leventhal (1979) says: while most adolescents conform to peer pressure and societal standards, some adolescents are non-conformist, or ant conformist.

Non-conformist occurs when individuals know what people around them expect, but do not use these expectations to guide their behavior.

Non-conformist are independent as when a high school student chooses not to be a member of a clique.

Ant conformists are individuals who react counter to a group’s expectation and deliberately move away from actions beliefs the group advocates.  Peer conformity in students is most pronounced with respect to style, taste, appearance, ideology, and values.

Rosana (2003) advocates that: peer pressure usually sets in during the adolescence period and teenagers like caterpillars who are just beginning to get out of their homes.

There is a need during this period, for new social skills, recognition, acceptance, and guidance by home. The pressure will generally inflict positive and negative impacts on the adolescent.

Peer pressure is a pervasive theme of adolescents’ life; its power can be observed in almost every dimension of adolescents’ behavior. Their choices of dress, music, values, leisure activities, and so on.

Also, peer pressure is commonly associated with episodes of students risk-taking, such as delinquency, drug abuse, sexual behaviors, reckless driving because these activities commonly occur in the company of peers.

The idea that “everyone’s doing it” can influence some students to leave their better judgment of their common sense behind, and hook up to these activities.

Those students give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked, to fit in, or because they worry that other students might make fun of them if they don’t go along with the group while others go in because they are curious to try something new that others are doing. Ron (1967).

Statement Of The Problem

When we look back at the behavior of students towards schooling and that of now, it is quite different. At first, students were more serious with their studies than now. The reason was that they were not so attached to a group of friends, but today, our students do form their group made up of members of the same age group.

These groups are known as peers. Within this group, they learn different things, some academically and some socially.  Academically, they help each other to study hard and even encourage those who are weak to like schooling.

On the other hand, some of these groups turn to make their friends stay away from and get involved in dangerous activities like stealing, smoking, drinking, etc. some students have both positive and negative influences, but the researcher’s interest is on the negative aspect of these peer groups, to see how it affects schooling attitudes.

So, therefore, it is on this background that the researcher decided to carry out a study on the effects of peer pressure on students’ attitudes towards schooling with aspects on smoking, eating, drinking, vandalism and dressing.

General Objectives

Does peer pressure have an effect on students’ attitudes towards school?

Specific Objectives

1. The effects of smoking on students attitudes towards schooling in Buea Sub-Division
2. The effects of dating on students attitudes towards schooling in Buea Sub-Division
3. The effects of drinking on students attitudes towards schooling in Buea Sub-Division
4. The effects of vandalism on student’s attitudes towards schooling in Buea Sub-Division
5. The effects of dressing on students attitudes towards schooling in Buea Sub-Division