The Predictive Role of Parenting Styles, Peer Attachment, and Assertiveness in Peer Pressure Among Adolescents

Introduction: Peers impact the decision-making ability of adolescents. Thus, individuals can become susceptible to peer pressure, which leads to depression, self-injurious behavior, substance use, and risky behavior, among others. Further, since parents are influential in an individual’s life, their parenting styles can determine one’s choice of peers and, in turn, the extent of peer impact. Moreover, an individual’s peer attachment styles can determine their susceptibility to peer pressure. Conversely, assertiveness can help resist negative influences. Hence, using a correlational design, the present research aimed to study the role of parenting styles, peer attachment, and assertiveness on peer pressure among adolescents. Materials and Methods: A total of 315 senior secondary school students aged 15–17 years belonging to public and private schools in Delhi-NCR, employed through convenience sampling, filled the Peer Pressure Scale-Revised, Perceived Parenting Styles Scale, Adolescent Friendship Attachment Scale, and Rathus Assertiveness Schedule. Results: Peer pressure had a positive relationship with authoritarian ( r = 0.320, P < .001) and permissive parenting styles ( r = 0.341, P < .001), as well as anxious/ambivalent attachment ( r = 0.305, P < .001), and had a negative relationship with authoritative parenting style ( r = –0.210, P < .001) and assertiveness ( r = 0.112, P = .047). Further, parenting styles, peer attachment, and assertiveness predicted a 23.8% variance in peer pressure, and authoritarian and permissive parenting styles and anxious/ambivalent and avoidant attachment styles were independent significant predictors. Discussion: Parenting styles, peer attachment, and assertiveness are significantly related to peer pressure, and parenting styles and peer attachment predict peer pressure among adolescents. The findings can help create tailored programs to reduce peer pressure, like parenting workshops and assertiveness training, to empower adolescents to make informed decisions.