THE EFFECTS OF PEER PRESSURE ON SECOND YEAR STUDENTS AT NATIONAL ECONOMICS ECONOMY

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY ADVANCED EXCELLENT PROGRAMS THE EFFECTS OF PEER PRESSURE ON SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS AT NATIONAL ECONOMICS ECONOMY Students: Tran Lan Nhi Nguyen Tran Tu Linh Vu Binh Son Nguyen Hoang Long Nguyen Trang Nhung Supervisor: Dr Nguy Thuy Trang Ha Noi, 12/2021 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, we want to convey our heartfelt gratitude to Dr Nguy Thuy Trang for her insightful and constructive contributions during the planning and development of this research project She taught us how to conduct research and present our findings in the most concise way possible Working and studying under her supervision was a great honor and privilege We are appreciative for everything she has done for me We would also like to extend my thanks to all members in of the 62B Advanced Finance class for their support and for this work They always provided precise information relating to the study Hopefully, we will always stick together Best wishes will always accompany everyone Finally, we wish to thank all participants who fill surveys carefully and detaily so as to complete our research directly as well as indirectly iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1.1: The importance of peers in life 15 Figure 2.1.2.1: Internal factors influence peer pressure 16 Figure 2.1.2.2: External factors influence peer pressure 17 Figure 2.1.3: Types of peer pressure that sophomores facing 18 Figure 2.2: The effects of peer pressure on second year students at NEU 19 Figure 2.3: Measurements from second-year students about how peer pressure affected 20 LIST OF TABLE Table 2.4: Recommendations from second-year students to tackle negative peer 21 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS NEU National Economics University v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS II LIST OF FIGURES III LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .IV TABLE OF CONTENTS V INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Objective of the study Research questions Scopes Methods of the study Design of the study DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .5 1.1 Definitions of peer pressure 1.2 Types of peer pressure 1.3 Factors that influence peer pressures 1.4 Effects of peer pressure 1.5 Solutions to overcome peer pressure 12 CHAPTER 2: FINDINGS & DISCUSSION .15 2.1 Background information 15 2.2 The effects of peer pressure on second year students at NEU .18 2.3 Students measured how peer pressure affected second-year students at NEU 19 vi CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS 24 3.1 Recommendations for students 24 3.2 Recommendations for school 25 3.3 Recommendations for families 28 CONCLUSION 31 Summary of the study 31 Limitations of the study 32 Suggestions for further study 32 REFERENCES 34 APPENDIX 36 vii INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study Peers are the people whom you consider friends and spend time with In children and teens, they are usually of the same age group In adults, peers may be determined by shared interests and profession Peers tend to influence each other in terms of behaviour Kids who play with each other have the same toys, and try to the same gestures Workers who perform well at work influence their partners to try harder These are examples of a phenomenon called “peer pressure”, which is defined by Oxford Dictionary as “pressure from people your age or social group to behave like them to be liked or accepted” Peer pressure among college students is significant College students tend to live far from their parents or protectors, which means there are no rules, no curfew, and that they have total control over their decisions In the case of National Economics University (NEU) students, especially sophomorebstudents, peer pressure can prove to be troublesome, as their courses put their focus on students’ activities, including working in groups or teams Second students have difficulties dealing with peer pressure, since they have to work on their graduation thesis They have to balance their time studying and their time with their peers, which can exhaust them Pressure from schoolwork makes them vulnerable, and an easy target for temptations, that is party, drugs, et cetera However, having supportive peers who give their friends a helping hand, both in academic and recreational aspects can prove to be a source of motivation Seeing how positive as well as negative peer pressure can be, we decided to conduct a research on the topic “The effects of peer pressure on second year students at National Economics University” Objective of the study The specific objectives of the study are: To identify the effects of peer pressure that second year students have to go through To investigate how peer pressure affects second-year students To suggest some realistic and appropriate solutions to improve students’ ability to cope with peer pressures and recover their motivation Research questions The study is conducted to answer the following research questions:  What are the effects that peer pressure has brought to second year students?  How can it affect them?  What are the solutions for sophomore students to overcome peer pressure? Scopes Peer pressure is an issue for everyone at every age, especially young people However, this study only focuses on the second-year students from National Economic University This study is claimed to be an overview of current situations of the sophomore students who struggle with the negative aspects of peer pressure The survey is also carried out to indicate and analyze the positive impacts, then offers some solutions to minimize those harms and to help students overcome the situations A survey will be carried out to cover a wide range of 100 second-year students from National Economic University This research will be investigated within 15 weeks Methods of the study The study will be conducted using a quantitative method with a survey consisting of multiple choice questions and questions that were measured on a Likert scale In order to gather the quantitative data, the survey was sent to about 110 students Before the analysis of the gathered data was prepared, all the data will be synthesised by using Google Forms Second-year students’ answers will be identified from others by using Microsoft excel 5.1 Respondents A survey with a list of questions was designed for the sophomores in the School of Advanced Education Program that aims to get from general to specific information regarding content of a study The questionnaire was sent for 119 students at NEU Because the questionnaire depends on many factors, the survey is divided into different sections and can be a useful tool to get an overall effect of peer pressure on sophomores in NEU 5.2 Steps to conduct a survey Step 1: Identify the data that are expected to collect The survey sample was selected through a purposeful sampling method among sophomores in NEU The author distributed the survey questionnaire to second-year students by Google Form and collected them immediately after the respondents completed the questionnaire The languages used in the questionnaire are English and Vietnamese Step 2: Decide the method of the survey The questionnaire was designed and sent directly to each respondent The author explained the purposes of the research and answered any questions of respondents to get the most effective personal response Step 3: Diagram the substance of the questionnaire and select configuration of question Multiple choice questions, Likert Scale questions were used Multichoice questions were designed to get background information and Likert Scale questions ( strongly disagree, disagree, undecided, agree, strongly agree) aimed to classify the level of evaluation of the effects of peer pressure on sophomores at NEU 25 3.2 Recommendations for school 3.2.1 Promote self-learning and reflective thinking o Give students ownership over their education When students are in command of their own learning, they feel a sense of togetherness, and the classroom becomes a space that they define Teachers, on the other hand, are more essential than ever in allowing students to exercise greater autonomy since only a great teacher can establish the scaffolding for this curriculum and learning experience, as well as attentively guide students through each step of the process.Designing activities that foster learner independence is essential because they invite students to engage more thoughtfully with the content, and that engagement should include students talking about their work Set exciting, openended exercises that target useful skills, meet learning objectives, and allow students to make decisions while assessing and reflecting on their progress to encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning o Allow students to reflect on their learning by providing opportunities for them It is important to prompt reflective thinking as it helps students to know why they were or were not successful, and to help them make changes in their plan for a different outcome Students can use reflective thinking to cognitively analyze learning events, identify what they've learned, revise their understanding depending on new information and experiences, and apply what they've learned to new situations Students' reflections can serve as a powerful assessment tool for teachers to help them make changes to improve the lesson design 3.2.2 Do not allow students to negatively pressure others It's critical for teachers to demonstrate that they support this specific behavior.Teachers should create an environment where students are not afraid to fail and be ridiculed o Create opportunities for connection 26 Bullying attacks can be reduced and targeted students' healing can be facilitated by cultivating a feeling of community in the classroom When bullied teenagers feel connected to their peers, they are capable of coping with the situation It is feasible to prevent future bullying incidents by teaching students to speak up and then take a stand when they encounter hostile behavior Teachers can begin by providing a safe environment for children to make a stand and also be heard Developing the students' ability to advocate within their own behalf and also for others Facilitate opportunities for positive encouragement outside of the classroom by assisting students in participating in afterschool activities relating to their hobbies and interests o Identify the earliest signs of negative peer pressure and intervene It is important that teachers notice even the smallest signs of peer pressure, and to take actions before things escalate If interventions are not taken in time, students who resist peer pressure can end up being bullied 3.2.3 Increase students’ self-esteem and confidence When students look satisfied about themselves, they can accomplish further in the classroom Teachers' roles comprise fostering can-do attitudes and boosting confidence by building students up for success and providing frequent valuable responses Students with strong ego are also more likely to complete challenging tasks and seek new experiences, as well as more equipped to cope with failures, disappointment, and failure Self-esteem is a lifetime requirement that children can easily enhance with the involvement of teachers Students' self-esteem is greatly influenced by the feedback they receive, especially when it comes from their mentors Students might be injured by unproductive, overly critical criticism, which can lead to low self-esteem Positive and constructive feedback, on the other hand, can have the opposite impact What students hear about themselves and their abilities has an impact on their self-esteem 3.2.4 Teach students to realize that they can learn from their mistakes and how to deal with error 27 Making mistakes is broadly acknowledged as a crucial component of the learning process This is because if we struggle constructively to understand the mistakes rather than abandoning up in disgust after making a mistake, the problemsolving method stays with us longer than if we merely memorize the solution o See mistakes as a source of understanding When students are aware of incorrect solution concepts while working on a problem, they can go far deeper into the topic than if they are just given the correct solution and told to memorize it Teachers should not only rectify errors, but also ensure that students identify and understand why they made them Students will only be able to gain a deeper knowledge of the error and the proper solution strategy if they proceed in this manner o Encourage independent mistake correction as a matter of habit Giving students the ability to identify and correct their own errors as soon as they occur has a beneficial impact on their drive to learn Learning to explore for root causes and origins of errors enhances conceptual understanding at the same time.Learners must not just be recognized that they have made a mistake; they must also receive feedback on the characteristics of the error The greatest strategy to change cognitive patterns and prevent individuals from repeating the same mistake again is to utilize root cause analysis in conjunction with targeted individual support 3.2.5 Employ a mental consult team specialized in helping students who are having negative thoughts Mental health counselors can help negatively pressured students to explore what are the fears, insecurities, and challenges due to which students are giving in to peer pressure Counselors can then understand the intensity of the problem, and provide solutions 3.3 Recommendations for families For a youngster, having strong companionships is an indispensable piece of their lives Being a piece of a companionship gathering can provide your teen with a 28 feeling of having a place and be a good component in their lives Peer pressure isn't continually something to stress over as it tends to be just about as basic as acquainting something else with a youngster's life like new music, style, or encounters Nonetheless, there are times when the impacts of a kinship gathering can be negative or unsafe, and they might empower wrong decisions and choices This is the point at which a circumstance can turn into a worry for guardians 3.3.1 Help children discover his or her interests and strengths and develop positive self-confidence It is strongly believed that gaining self-confidence will help children less suffer from peer pressure Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses in different areas Therefore, parents should be a companion with their children on the path to finding passions and suitable things to pursue There are many areas surrounding our life such as academia, music, sports or even a talent that few people have and know about When children discover what they really fit, they will feel confident, no longer guilty, feel inadequate when around their peers Of course, this is something that needs to be done at an early age, when children are gradually forming behaviors and actions Finding interest will help people stay on the right track, unaffected by negative thoughts about the environment 3.3.2 Encourage your child’s independent thinking In some Asian countries, to take Vietnam as an example, it is very common to let parents make decisions on everything at an early age This action is actually helpful to children to have the right orientation on what to do, but sometimes it can be counterproductive, negatively affecting children's thinking and perception Many adults still have the habit of thinking dependently, not have their own opinions on the surrounding issues, which easily leads to suffering peer pressure Helping children practice making decisions and thinking for themselves, is the right thing to and should be done in the long run of your child's development Let children be in charge of their own decisions, parents’ missions are supporting in forming children’s own views and then making healthy decisions Help your youngster to 29 have the certainty to settle on sure options and deny something that doesn't agree with them Having a solid ability to be self aware can assist them with building versatility against any types of misfortune in their lives Urge them to get to know what their identity is, the thing that qualities they hold and assist them with getting some down time to chip away at themselves 3.3.3 Show empathy for your child’s anxieties and the feelings that come with peer pressure Anxiety is something that happens to everyone in this world, it can be days or hours Nowadays, it is common for children to suffer anxiety, when there is too much pressure from the surrounding environment from school, friends and many other social problems Those external triggers make it easier for children to experience anxiety, especially when they feel inferior to peers Therefore, parents should show empathy to children, understand them, open hearts to talk with them, and help overcome these psychological obstacles Empathy here involves seeing things from a child’s perspective, listening and valuing the child’s feelings Sharing empathy with your children is incredibly important, it can help him or her learn to trust his or her own decisions, feeling more confident 3.3.4 Assist children in managing social pressures and anxieties, try to talk to them Children, no matter how old or mature they are, to them, their parents are still a solid rear, who have a lot of experience, have many lessons learned and are always ready to give advice So observing how children deal with both internal and external pressures from which to give the most reasonable advice will be very helpful Parents can try asking questions about how he or she is feeling, giving attention to the peer pressures he or she experiences Surely they will feel cared for, will feel better when they see understanding from those closest to them Listen to your child, and at the same time give the most honest advice, possibly from personal experiences.Encourage your child or teen to see the bigger picture when faced with adversity Share your experiences with them so they can see you understand what they are going through Let them know that everything has a process and sometimes we have to go through these things to come out the other 30 end stronger Young people will only learn to value themselves if those around them first value them Give them lots of positive encouragement and praise This will give them the necessary springboard to be assertive and have the confidence to say no to peer influence and pressure Family is the place where we can share our feelings, where we don't need to create a cover for ourselves, the most comfortable and carefree home CONCLUSION Summary of the study The purpose of the conducted study in this research was to examine what peer pressure can cause to sophomores and how they can deal with it in NEU From this research study, some students tend to have a thought that peer pressure is negative but others tend to see peer pressure in a more optimistic way Therefore, there are advantages and disadvantages to examining this problem The literature clearly highlighted the factors that influence sophomores' peer pressure There were two types of factors: internal and external factors Both of the factors created a negative peer pressure for students Therefore, it may cause some mental illness to them From the survey, it can be seen that there were a significant number of students who chose that peer pressure will affect their thoughts Others chose emotional development, behavior and decision respectively to be the effect of peer pressure Some second-year students tend to have a feeling of peer pressure when they may think they were not good enough or they were isolated in a group or they just not have the confidence in themselves 31 However, beside the negative effects of peer pressure, there are some benefits when a student undergoes it From the survey, a majority of students took peer pressure as a way to motivate themselves The main idea of this is maybe the need of one particular individual to become a better version of his or her Moreover, the authors had provided some solutions for all the participants who took the survey Because studying in a university may help a student to work more and more independently so even when they have peer pressure, they tend to prefer spending time alone to assess themselves or find some alternative works than sharing the issue with their parents Besides that, some students choose to back out from their main activities to take a short break period or they may find someone different from their family to discuss with In conclusion, all of the research objectives were met, and the study is expected to considerably improve the current status of second-year students at National Economics University participating in extracurricular activities Limitations of the study Most research endeavors are certain to have limitations The research covered in this thesis is no exception due to a lack of time and knowledge First of all, the external limitation is the dangerous period of COVID-19 that we are living in and because of that, some of the methods cannot be used in order to create better research Therefore, practical experience may be lacking Secondly, due to the lack of time and understanding, the research has been conducted on a small scale The problem covered mainly the opinions of students through the survey In order to enhance the quality of the research, not only sophomores but also other – year students should be interviewed These shortcomings, ideally, will be addressed by additional research Hopefully, these limitations will ideally be resolved through further research Suggestions for further study The diversity issues surrounding peer pressure should be considered in future studies As the number of approaches grows, it is first proposed that future research will solve the study's limitations Further research into the effects of peer pressure 32 among students should be conducted in other faculties at National Economics University, according to the researchers Peer pressure among adolescents should be studied further in the future This could highlight the extent to which peer pressure affects adolescents This could also help to identify potential strategies for assisting NEU students in coping with peer pressure and improving organizational performance In the present, peer pressure is a common issue that many students from every level of ages face up with However, in many schools, the problem is usually underestimated due to the lack of communication between teachers and students Therefore, a subject to help students to find the solution for the issue should be created By doing this, the authors believe not only decrease the percentage of students affected negatively by peer pressure but creating a subject like this will probably be a way for students to enhance communication better and better The gap between teachers and students will be shortened and this also can improve the quality of students when studying in class 33 REFERENCES Treynor, W (2009), Towards a general theory of social psychology: Understanding Human cruelty, human misery and perhaps a remedy (A theory of the socialization Process) Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15528030.2011.563227 Varela, A., & Pritchard, M., (2011) Peer Influence: Use of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Prescription Medications Journal of American College Health Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5916837/ Kessler, T (2017), Peer Pressure Retrieved https://www.thomkesslertherapist.com/blog articles/peer-pressure from Carnevale (2021, August 20) Peer Pressure Types and Examples Retrieved from Study.com Web site: https://study.com/learn/lesson/what-is-peerpressure.html Hardy Type of Peer Pressure Retrieved from lovetoknow Web site: https://teens.lovetoknow.com/Type_of_Peer_Pressure Saxena (2020, December 9) Peer Pressure: Types, Examples, & How to 34 Respond Retrieved from Choosingtherapy Web site: https://www.choosingtherapy.com/peer-pressure/ Andreas (2020, March 28) 31 Causes, Effects & Solutions For Peer Pressure Retrieved from Environmental Conscience Web site: https://environmental-conscience.com/peer-pressure-causes-effectssolutions/ Gikonyo R.W & Kageni Njagi (2016) The Influence of Demographic Factors on Peer Pressure among Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 87-88 In Search of me Cafe team, I S (n.d.) Peer Pressure Risk Factors Retrieved from In Search of me Cafe: http://www.insearchofmecafe.com/pressure/pressure_riskFactorsr.aspx Shianne Berger and Isabell Kopf (2019, May 28) External vs Internal Pressure Retrieved from TheProwler: https://chsprowler.com/1231/news/external-vs-internal-pressure/? cf_chl_managed_tk =pmd_Ih3LVGTv257jtPRdL3Io4waRq2c26mG9AV 96V1n.pr8-1634226879-0-gqNtZGzNAxCjcnBszQkl Amy Morin, LCSW(July 13, 2021) What Is Peer Pressure? Retrieved from Very well family:https://www.verywellfamily.com/negative-and-positivepeer-pressure-differences-2606643 Roper, K (2018) Effects of Peer Pressure Expert Interview Retrieved October 19, 2021,from LoveToKnow website: https://teens.lovetoknow.com/Effects_of_Peer_Pressure Sonya (2021, February 15) Effects of Peer Pressure | How to Help Your Teens with Alcohol & Drugs Retrieved October 19, 2021, from AspenRidge 35 website:https://www.aspenridgerecoverycenters.com/effects-of-peerpressure/ Padma (2014, August 5) Negative Effects Of Peer-Pressure | The Teachers Digest Retrieved October 19, 2021, from Theteachersdigest.com website:http://theteachersdigest.com/6-ways-in-which-children-arenegatively-affected-by-peer-pressure/ APPENDIX We are students at National Economics University Now, we are doing a thesis on finding the effects of peer pressure on senior students at NEU We would like to ask for your help to answer questions about that topic This is a survey about your opinion on perception on real experience from peer pressure This questionnaire is a part of our research and all those ideas including personal information will be kept secure and will be used for this research purpose only We hope to receive your precious ideas and your opinion Thank you for your cooperation PART 1: BACKGROUND INFORMATION 1.1 What you think about the importance of peers in your life?  Very unimportant  Unimportant  Neutral  Important 36  Very important 1.2 What types of peer pressure you often get?  Negative peer pressure  Positive peer pressure  Others 1.3 What internal factors influence your peer pressure?  Weak personality  Mental issues  Poor self confidence  Anxiety  Others 1.4 What external factors influence your peer pressure?  Social acceptance  Future goals  Bad parenting  Appearance  Academic performance  Others 1.5 What are your effects of peer pressure?  Behavior (Hành động)  Thinking  Decision  Emotional development  Others PART2: HOW CAN PEER PRESSURE AFFECT SECOND YEAR STUDENTS? 37 Please indicate your opinion about each statement by choosing the appropriate column (SD= Strongly Disagree; D= Disagree; U= Undecided; A= Agree, SA= Strongly Agree) No Items Be influenced to gain new experience Have more motivation in studying Become a better version of yourself Get depressed because you think that you are not good enough Want to discontinue Get jealous with others’ success Decrease self-confident about yourself Abuse alcohol drinks to reduce pressures Feel isolated from peers, lack direction in their lives SD D U A SA 10 Have negative/suicidal thoughts In addition to the above factors, would you like to add any comments? 38 PART3: WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS FOR SENIOR STUDENTS TO OVERCOME PEER PRESSURE ? Please indicate your opinion about each statement by choosing the appropriate column (SD= Strongly Disagree; D= Disagree; U= Undecided; A= Agree, SA= Strongly Agree) No Solutions Get support from parents Spend time for yourself to assess spend strengths and weaknesses instead Find something to focus on and set aside peer pressure (sport, cooking,etc ) Build self-esteem for yourself Speak with the individual who is putting you under peer pressure Recognize unhealthy behaviours to avoid Plan ahead on what you can say or to avoid being pressured SD D U A SA 39 Choose peers who share the same beliefs and values Avoid peers who can cause self-doubt, or may disregard your feelings 10 Back out when you are being negatively pressurized In addition to the above factors, would you like to add any comments? THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENTHUSIASTIC COOPERATION! ... pressure on second year students at National Economics University” Objective of the study The specific objectives of the study are: To identify the effects of peer pressure that second year students. .. The effects of peer pressure on second year students at NEU In the following figure, there are four types of effects of peer pressure that affect sophomores in National Economic University, they... decision and emotional development Figure 2.2: The effects of peer pressure on second year students at NEU As shown in the chart, the majority of students feel that peer pressure affects the way they