I'm doing a research writing assignment on influence of family and friends on teenagers. I would be grateful if you could check it and give me some comments. Thanks a lot

COMPARE THE INFLUENCE OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS ON TEENAGERS

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Adolescence is considered as the most sensitive time in a person’s life, in which there are noticeable physical and mental modifications. Thus, during their development, they are under the significant influence of both family and friends. How teenagers are impacted by parents and peer is quite different in terms of selecting career and shaping behavior.

When looking at families, their impacts on career-related decision and manner formation are complex, which begin from birth and are carried into the transition to adulthood .First and foremost, parents influence juveniles' career choice both intentionally and inadvertently. When children reach adolescence, they begin to seriously consider their future, often looking on their parents either as role models or career counsellors (Pablo, R., & Drobot, L., 2010). The way parents approach this can encourage them to explore a variety of potential occupations or force them to an intended path. For instance, if a young girl does not see any female engineers in her hometown, and is pressured by her parents to pursue careers in more gender-biased roles (such as nursing or secretarial work), she will not typically believe that becoming an engineer is a possibility for herself (Clutter, 2010). Moreover, the family is considered as the major source of reinforcement of teenagers’ manner. Parents serve as role models for their children in imparting appropriate behavior, so family structures affect partly the development of youngsters. According to Loke & Mak (2013), it may be said that the children of divorced parents display a lower standard of conduct and delinquent behavior when compared to the children from intact families. Parenting style, whether is high or low control and support, is also taken into account.The adolescents who have less supervised time from their parents have higher tendency to use substance than those with more controlled time from their parents. A study showed that juveniles who characterized their parents as neglectful were more likely to have tried smoking (OR = 4.27) and illicit drugs (OR = 3.34) than those with warm and directive parents (Loke & Mak, 2013).

Peer pressure plays an indispensable role in shaping the teenagers’ career decision-making and behavior modification. Regarding career choices, teenagers have a tendency to share important information such as salary, promotion or competition to each other. For this reason, individuals can consider whether this position is suitable or not and be more decisive to adopt their dream career. Statistics from a research reveals that 70% students concur with the sentiment on peer assistance in career decision making to a greater extent and 25% believe it to some extent (Naz, et al. 2014). Correspondingly, the proportion of students approving of the position that peer group assists in career selection is 75% higher extent (Naz, et al. 2014). Additionally, friends have profound impacts on adolescents’ behaviors. Juveniles can be impinged by their peers to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, alcohol use or aggressive behaviors. In particular, the main motivation for their drinking is related to social events with friends because drinking is supposed to help relax or facilitate sharing experiences and feeling (Tomé, et al. 2012). However, friendship can motivate youngsters to study harder or participate in social activities. Adolescents with reciprocal friendships mention high levels of sense of belonging in school; customarily, it can have positive effects in teenagers’ academic results (Tomé, et al. 2012).

In conclusion, family and companions exert significant influences on teenagers in respect of career orientation and behavior formation. Regardless of their positive and adverse impacts, both factors contribute greatly to teenagers’ growth.

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References

Clutter, C. (2010). The effects of parental influence on their children’s career choices.

Loke, A., & Mak, Y. (2013). Family Process and Peer Influences on Substance Use by Adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 10(9), 3868-3885. doi:10.3390/ijerph10093868

Naz, A., Saeed, G., Khan, W., Khan, N., Sheikh, I., & Khan, N. (2014). Peer and friends and career decision making: A critical Analysis [PDF file]. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 22(8): 1193-1197. doi: 10.5829/idosi.mejsr.2014.22.08.21993

Palos, R., & Drobot, L. (2010). The impact of family influence on the career choice of adolescents [PDF file]. Elsevier Ltd. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.524.

Tomé, G., Matos, M., Simões, C., Diniz, J. A., & Camacho, I. (2012). How Can Peer Group Influence the Behavior of Adolescents: Explanatory Model. Global Journal of Health Science, 4(2). doi:10.5539/gjhs.v4n2p26

Group 3 - 18E15 - ULIS