Peer pressure continues to be rampant nowadays. It is especially prevalent in college-age teenagers who seem to catch binge drinking as easily as the common cold. If you have children who are more or less of the same age, then this study from Dalhousie University can shed a bit of light on your teens’ habits.
In an effort to find out just how contagious binge drinking can be, researchers observed 208 non-married heterosexual couples in their early 20s for 28 days. Each couple had to have been dating for at least three months and have face-to-face contact five days a week. One half of the pair also had to at least be in college.
Based on the results, researchers found out that the couples do partake in binge drinking simply because they are involved in a relationship that encourages it. Dr. Simon Sherry, assistant professor of psychology from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, believes that it is important to choose the kind of people teenagers associate themselves with. Friends, lovers—they can certainly be more influential than your kids realize.
There is still a lot more to explore in the subject of peer pressure. Nothing is definitive yet, but there is at least enough information for you to understand why your children might be acting the way they do.
For more on peer pressure, try this article:
For more on drinking, check these out on FN:
- Drinking Makes You More Likely to Have Unsafe Sex
- Face Your Fears: See What Drinking, Smoking, and Overeating Will Do to You
- Drink Moderately
- Healthy Hubbies: 5 Bad Habits Your Guy Should Break
(Photo source: Morguefile.com)
