The 8th Deadly Sin, Peer Pressure

January 6, 2012 3 Comments

A few weeks back I saw a tweet posted by a teen and it said “the 8th deadly sin, peer pressure.”  I was intrigued by the concept so I hit “reply” and asked him if I could write a blog on the topic of peer pressure today as a deadly sin. He agreed.

We all know the story from the Bible, which created a classification of vices told to early Christians as a way to educate them about  sin.  The 7 deadly sins are: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. However, nowhere in the story does it mention peer pressure of any kind. Or others forcing their opinions or actions on you in a negative and detrimental manner.  The vices are all related to excessive internal wants or desires, but why doesn’t peer pressure make the list?  It’s just as damaging and can lead to very destructive behaviors. Daily, I talk with teens where peer pressure is the number 1 issue they want to discuss.  In their words “it’s everywhere” and it seems to occur constantly.  I can honestly say that I have never had a conversation with a teen who was concerned about wrath, but peer pressure–yes!  Peer pressure is so ugly and harmful to our well-being. I’m sometimes concerned that if we hear the word “peer pressure” too often in the news or media that we will become desensitized to its meaning and impact.  Trust me, peer pressure is alive and well and can be just as deadly.

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About Dr Carol
Dr Carol is a former University Dean and Associate Provost, trained therapist, researcher, educational consultant and author. During her training, she counseled hundreds of clients in one-on-one sessions as well as in group settings where her work was with college freshman dealing with transitional and developmental issues on campus. Her primary research focus is female self-esteem development among teens. Her published dissertation “The effects of single gender versus coeducational environments on the self-esteem development and academic competence of high school females” focused on 15 year old girls in the Bay Area where her research findings showed disturbingly low levels of self-esteem across the board. This staggering discovery has led her to further research this topic. She is working on her second book called Girrl Up! Full E-steem Ahead, which is a compilation of interviews with teens girls on the topic of self-esteem while offering an effective and practical system designed to RAISE (Resilience, Attitude, Independence, Self-Respect and Empowerment) teen self-esteem. In addition, she runs groups for non-profits interested in adding self-esteem training into their overall mission.

3 Responses to The 8th Deadly Sin, Peer Pressure

  1. Alice Heiman says:
    January 8, 2012 at 1:25 PM

    Peer pressure and bullying are two things we need to teach our kids about from birth. Unfortunately the kids who are pressuring and bullying don’t necessarily have parents who can communicate about it and likely they have parents who pressure and bully. Best if we have continued conversations throughout our children’s lives and when examples come up use them as teachable moments. Most of all be careful as a parent that you are not pressuring your own children to choose what you want them to, guide them to make their own choices.

    Reply
  2. Dr Carol says:
    January 9, 2012 at 8:23 AM

    Very true Alice. As I always says, kids are watching everything adults do and say. So, lead by example always.

    Reply

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