tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/peer-pressure-9351/articlesPeer pressure – The Conversation2024-02-14T19:22:41Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2231872024-02-14T19:22:41Z2024-02-14T19:22:41ZWhy banning gym selfies could do us all a lot of good<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575213/original/file-20240213-24-834u6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C60%2C5699%2C3768&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Taking selfies to document daily life is now a completely <a href="https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1138&context=ttra">normalised activity</a> across all <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00007/full">ages and demographics</a>. </p>
<p>At the same time, however, selfies are often <a href="https://theconversation.com/trampling-plants-damaging-rock-art-risking-your-life-taking-selfies-in-nature-has-a-cost-211901">maligned</a> – particularly in specific contexts such as at places of worship, sacred sites, or when animals are <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/tourist-fined-instagram-post-iconic-aussie-spot-hard-to-believe-040243447.html">made unwitting participants</a>. </p>
<p>It’s easy to see why taking selfies could be considered inappropriate in such cases. But there’s been much debate about their acceptability in a more casual and frequented arena: the gym.</p>
<p>Lately, gyms the world over have been pushing back against selfies and influencer-culture taking over their spaces, <a href="https://sg.news.yahoo.com/gyms-crack-down-people-filming-103812638.html">citing</a> a risk of injury to patrons, among other concerns.</p>
<p>When considered alongside a rise in toxic influencer culture and widespread body-image insecurity, it could be argued banning gym selfies is a positive step. </p>
<h2>Self-obsession in the digital age</h2>
<p>People’s obsession with their own image is ancient. One of the most famous Greek myths is that of <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-was-narcissus-216353">Narcissus</a>, who gave us the word “narcissist”. </p>
<p>This is the tale of a young man captivated by his own image. Like many Greek myths, the story was meant to serve as a lesson for immoral behaviour. </p>
<p>Yet research shows narcissism is not only <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5783345/">very prevalent</a> in the modern age, in many cases it’s lucratively rewarded. This explains the rise of social media <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0144929X.2016.1201693">influencing</a>.</p>
<p>The potential rewards of “influencer-level” fame push many people to take risks for social media content. This can sometimes lead to injury <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/you-don-t-need-to-jump-off-that-big-rock-the-drive-for-a-perfect-selfie-is-luring-people-to-their-death-20231206-p5epob.html">or even death</a>, to the point that it’s now considered a <a href="https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e47202/PDF">public health problem</a>.</p>
<p>Various <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/05/geisha-selfies-banned-in-kyoto-as-foreign-tourism-boom-takes-toll">travel destinations</a> are banning <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccahughes/2023/04/20/famed-italian-coastal-town-imposes-selfie-ban-with-300-fine/?sh=5c3ec4934b40">tourists from taking selfies</a> in popular spots to reduce issues of safety and overcrowding. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dangerous-selfies-arent-just-foolish-we-need-to-treat-them-like-the-public-health-hazard-they-really-are-200645">Dangerous selfies aren't just foolish. We need to treat them like the public health hazard they really are</a>
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<h2>Gyms push back against selfies</h2>
<p><a href="https://journals-sagepub-com.wwwproxy1.library.unsw.edu.au/doi/full/10.1177/1461444819891699">Gym selfies</a> can be tied particularly closely to influencer culture. They have a long history on Instagram, the platform that gave birth to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01634437231155576">fitness influencers</a>. Influencers posting gym selfies will typically gain a lot of views and likes, and in some cases may attract mass followings. </p>
<p>A popular gym chain in Melbourne recently complained of influencers engaging in “<a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fitness/dohertys-gym-bans-tripods-in-move-targeting-influencers/news-story/2d98028d2f2dc1196584dba59893c7a1">entitled and selfish behaviour</a>” that “should not be tolerated”. Much of this has stemmed from these patrons seemingly concentrating more on generating social media content than their <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/popular-gym-franchise-bans-fitness-influencers-from-filming-in-gym-20240203-p5f24q.html">actual performance in the gym</a>. </p>
<p>This <a href="https://dohertysgym.com/">particular gym</a> is now giving members the option to buy a “media pass” if they wish to take photos while working out. The rules primarily target influencers who film their workouts, rather than regular gym-goers who exercise for themselves.</p>
<p>Other chains around the world have also banned <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/nov/04/not-cool-uk-gyms-ban-camera-kit-in-crackdown-on-selfies-and-videos">the use of tripods</a>, which could be considered a tripping hazard. Some have prohibited taking <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gyms-cracking-down-people-filming-workouts-amid-privacy-concerns-uk-2023-11">photos or videos</a> on gym premises altogether.</p>
<p>These establishments often cite safety and <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2015/05/23/gym-selfies/27790675/">privacy concerns</a>. For instance, we’ve seen several examples of <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/dani-mathers-snapchat-bodyshamed-playboy-playmate-victim-speaks-out-spared-jail-a7783786.html">regular gym-goers</a>, often filmed without their consent, fall on the receiving end of abuse or <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fitness/exercise/woman-films-man-staring-at-her-like-a-piece-of-meat-at-the-gym/news-story/ddd4d1f7a22fc3f9f18471c88d2eb952">public shaming</a> when they’ve ended up in gym selfies or videos posted online.</p>
<p>Research shows gym selfies can also influence people’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10410236.2018.1428404">motivations for exercising</a>. Study participants reported becoming more conscious of their own bodies when they saw gym selfies online. </p>
<h2>Self-care in the social media age</h2>
<p>Banning selfies and influencer behaviour at gyms marks a shift away from the previous encouragement of self-promotional and <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-12148-7_1">performative behaviour</a> that many gyms became <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-07-17/inside-the-world-of-l-a-s-gym-fluencer-ecosystem">famous for on Instagram</a>. It suggests people are beginning to acknowledge the detrimental aspects of such anti-social exhibitionism.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="TiktokEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.tiktok.com/@chrisxtavita/video/7306346193855057153?q=fitness%20influencer\u0026t=1707796045527"}"></div></p>
<p>In today’s world, the line between personal and performative action is becoming increasingly blurred. And social media are a potent driver of the latter. In a sense, social media’s pervasive presence in our lives has turned <a href="https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/801555">many of us into marketers</a> who live our lives out for public consumption. </p>
<p>Online, many of us face near-constant comparisons with others. This promotes an obsession with self-image and pushes us to reach <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22489">social media-worthy levels</a> of muscularity or leanness.</p>
<p><a href="https://academic.oup.com/her/article-abstract/37/3/167/6583538?login=false">Research shows</a> adolescents in particular can have negative mental health outcomes as a result of self-image comparisons on social media.</p>
<p>These comparisons have led to a culture that promotes (often risky) body <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12451">modification</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jcop.22489">enhancement behaviours</a>, including <a href="https://journals-sagepub-com.wwwproxy1.library.unsw.edu.au/doi/full/10.1177/1403494820973096">steroid use</a> and exercise addiction. </p>
<p>Cosmetic procedures such as botox, fillers and <a href="https://journals.lww.com/plasreconsurg/abstract/2006/12000/body_dysmorphic_disorder_and_cosmetic_surgery.43.aspx">reconstruction surgery</a> have also boomed in popularity. An even darker side reveals an increase in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019074092032082X">eating disorders and body dysmorphia</a>, particularly among young women and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/health/adolescents-boys-eating-disorders.html">adolescent boys</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="TiktokEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.tiktok.com/@tinyfitjen/video/7284051587159411974?q=fitness%20gym%20selfie\u0026t=1707796566556"}"></div></p>
<h2>Exercising for ourselves</h2>
<p>We’re seeing a growing number of fitness influencers leverage their online <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1357034X95001001005">social capital</a> to monetise their bodies. At the same time, these individuals wield significant power <a href="https://journals-sagepub-com.wwwproxy1.library.unsw.edu.au/doi/full/10.1177/1461444818815684">within communities</a> (both online and offline) and have an opportunity to shape norms around fitness and body image. </p>
<p>Recently, a very popular <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.103979">bodybuilding influencer</a> called the Liver King – who had claimed to be “natural” – was found to be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_Vd7i4ZpgA">taking steroids</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2IQGMjLAfC/?igsh=MW41OWdwamg1cXRueg==","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>This scandal underscores the need for strategies to reduce harm, and increase public health messaging within digital fitness culture. Banning selfies and harmful influencer antics in the gym might be a start.</p>
<p>It’s not just about preventing accidents such as trips and falls; it could have the added benefit of making influencers rethink their behaviours, tone down self-promotion and reinvigorate a <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/MHSI-08-2020-0051/full/html">sense of camaraderie among gym-goers</a>. </p>
<p>It might just be the beginning of people exercising for themselves and nobody else.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223187/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samuel Cornell receives funding from Meta Platforms, Inc. His research is also supported by a UNSW University Postgraduate Award funded by the Australian Government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy Piatkowski is a Lecturer and Researcher at Griffith University. He is also affiliated with Queensland Injectors Voice for Advocacy and Action. </span></em></p>Taking selfies is a normal part of daily life for millions of social media users. But doing so while exercising at the gym can be harmful.Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate - Social Media and Communication, School of Population Health, UNSW SydneyTimothy Piatkowski, Lecturer in Psychology, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2044502023-09-22T12:29:40Z2023-09-22T12:29:40Z4 reasons teens take part in social media challenges<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541835/original/file-20230809-15-old50p.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Young people often participate in a challenge to feel included among peers who have already done it.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/twin-sisters-using-mobile-phone-on-bedroom-at-home-royalty-free-image/1487171490">Frazao Studio Latino/E+ Collection/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/4-razones-por-las-que-los-adolescentes-participan-en-retos-en-las-redes-sociales-216882"><em>Leer en español.</em></a> </p>
<p>Social media challenges are wide-ranging – both in the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2023/09/09/14-year-old-dies-after-trying-the-paqui-one-chip-challenge/?sh=7755dc1e4a87">stunts they involve</a> and the <a href="https://www.als.org/stories-news/ice-bucket-challenge-dramatically-accelerated-fight-against-als">reasons why people do them</a>. </p>
<p>But why do young people take up challenges that pose a threat to health, well-being and, occasionally, their very lives?</p>
<p>We are an engineering professor who specializes in understanding <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OhgYMhYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">how humans interact with computers</a> and a psychology professor with expertise in mental health, specifically <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vnd69CIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">traumatic stress and suicide</a>.</p>
<p>Together with our research team, we conducted a series of studies to try to understand what motivates teens and young adults to participate in different challenges.</p>
<p>For these studies, from January 2019 to January 2020, we interviewed dozens of high school and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hfh.2022.100014">college students</a> in both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">the United States</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hfh.2022.100005">south India</a> who had participated in social media challenges. We also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3392831">analyzed 150 news reports</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/15973">60 public YouTube videos</a>, over a thousand comments on those YouTube videos, and 150 Twitter posts – all of which were specifically about the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-46505722">blue whale challenge</a>. This challenge, popularized in 2015 and 2016, was reported to involve progressively risky acts of self-harm that culminate in suicide.</p>
<p>We identified four key factors that motivate young people to participate in a challenge: social pressure, the desire for attention, entertainment value and a phenomenon called the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764202250670">contagion effect</a>. </p>
<h2>1. Social pressure</h2>
<p>Social pressure typically comes when a friend encourages another friend to do something, and the person believes they will achieve acceptance within a particular social group if they do it. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">We found that participation</a> in challenges that promote a good cause, such as the ice bucket challenge, often resulted from direct encouragement. Ice bucket challenge participants, for example, would complete the challenge and then publicly nominate others to do the same.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, young adults who engaged in riskier challenges primarily wanted to feel included in a group that had already participated in such a challenge. This was true for the <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/d75enx/this-woman-is-trying-to-end-the-cinnamon-challenge-after-her-sons-death">cinnamon challenge</a>, where participants rapidly consumed cinnamon and sometimes experienced lung damage and infection. For example, 38% of research participants who engaged in the cinnamon challenge acknowledged that they were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">seeking peer acceptance</a>, rather than being directly encouraged to participate. </p>
<p>“I think I did it because everyone I was going to school with did it at the time,” said one student who saw the challenge as popular among their peers. “And I figured there has to be something about it if everyone was doing it.” </p>
<h2>2. Seeking attention</h2>
<p>A form of attention-seeking behavior exclusive to participants of the ice bucket challenge was a wish to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">recognized for supporting a commendable cause</a>.</p>
<p>However, the attention-seeking behavior we observed among teens and young adults often led to participants innovating a more hazardous version of a challenge. This included enduring the associated risks longer than others. </p>
<p>For example, one participant <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">in the cinnamon challenge</a> swallowed powdered cinnamon for a period longer than their peers. “It was definitely peers, and like I said, you know, the attention,” they said. “Seeing other friends posting videos and who could do the challenge longer.”</p>
<h2>3. Entertainment</h2>
<p>Many young adults participated in these challenges for amusement and curiosity. Some were intrigued by the potential reactions from people who witnessed their performance.</p>
<p>“It seemed like fun, and I personally liked the artist who sings the song,” said one participant about the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/07/31/arrests-fines-and-injuries-the-in-my-feelings-challenge-has-gone-global-with-dangerous-results/">Kiki challenge</a>. The challenge involves dancing next to a moving car after stepping out of it to Drake’s song “In My Feelings.”</p>
<p>Others were interested in experiencing the sensations associated with executing the challenge. They wondered if their responses would mirror the other individuals they had observed doing it.</p>
<p>One participant said it was “mostly curiosity” that motivated them to do the cinnamon challenge: “Just because, seeing other people’s reactions, I kind of wanted to see if I would have the same reaction.”</p>
<h2>4. Contagion effect</h2>
<p>Challenges, even those that are seemingly benign, can spread quickly across social media. This is due to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764202250670">contagion effect</a>, where behaviors, attitudes and ideas spread from person to person. How content creators depict these challenges on digital media platforms also contributes to the contagion effect by encouraging others to participate. </p>
<p>After analyzing digital media content <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/15973">related to the blue whale challenge</a>, we found YouTube videos about this challenge often violated the Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s nine <a href="https://reportingonsuicide.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/ROS-One-PagerUpdated2022.pdf">messaging guidelines</a>. This means the posts exhibited risk factors for promoting contagion of harmful behaviors.</p>
<p>Specifically, of the 60 YouTube videos we analyzed regarding the blue whale challenge, 37% adhered to fewer than three guidelines, categorizing them as primarily unsafe. The most commonly violated guidelines involved failure to avoid detailed or glorified portrayals of suicide and its victims, to describe help-seeking resources, and to emphasize effective mental health treatments.</p>
<p>Our research also explored how participants viewed challenges after doing them. Half of those who engaged in a risky challenge indicated that if they had understood the physical danger or potential risk to their social image, they might have opted not to do the challenge.</p>
<p>“I would not have done the cinnamon challenge if [I had known that] someone ended up in a hospital performing it,” one respondent told us.</p>
<p>Based on our research, we believe that if more information about the potential risks of social media challenges was offered to students in schools, communicated to parents and shared on social media, it could help teens and young adults reflect and make informed decisions – and deter them from participating.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204450/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kapil Chalil Madathil receives funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heidi Zinzow receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.</span></em></p>Peer pressure, amusement and the desire for attention help explain why young people participate in risky social media challenges.Kapil Chalil Madathil, Wilfred P. Tiencken Professor of Industrial and Civil Engineering, Clemson UniversityHeidi Zinzow, Professor of Psychology, Clemson UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1408292020-06-18T12:17:29Z2020-06-18T12:17:29ZHere’s why some people are willing to challenge bullying, corruption and bad behavior, even at personal risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342503/original/file-20200617-94078-1gy6mv0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=209%2C286%2C7029%2C4341&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Certain characteristics mean moral rebels are willing to not go with the flow.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/rebellion-concept-royalty-free-image/1170636104">Francesco Carta fotografo/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a longtime Republican, spent months standing up to intense and highly public <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/georgia-election-brad-raffensperger-lindsey-graham-throw-out-ballots/">pressure from members of Congress</a>, who urged him to throw out legally cast ballots, <a href="https://theconversation.com/trumps-smoking-gun-tape-is-worse-than-nixons-but-congressional-republicans-have-less-incentive-to-do-anything-about-it-152643">and from President Donald Trump</a>, who asked him to “find 11,780 votes” to change the outcome of the election.</p>
<p>Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois became the first Republican member of Congress to <a href="https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/01/07/congressman-adam-kinzinger-president-donald-trump-removal-25th-amendment-us-capitol-riot/">call for Trump’s immediate removal</a> from office by the 25th Amendment, following the mob riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.</p>
<p>Ben Danielson, a well-regarded medical director of a Seattle medical clinic, resigned in November to protest ongoing racism in the hospital, noting concerns about his “<a href="https://crosscut.com/equity/2020/12/revered-doctor-steps-down-accusing-seattle-childrens-hospital-racism">own complicity as a representative of a hospital</a> that does not treat people of color as it should.”</p>
<p>All of these people spoke up to call out bad behavior, even in the face of immense pressure to stay silent. Although the specifics of each of these cases are quite different, what each of these people share is a willingness to take action. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-dCo5lYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Psychologists like me</a> describe those who are willing to defend their principles in the face of potentially negative social consequences such as disapproval, ostracism and career setbacks as “moral rebels.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674241831">Moral rebels</a> speak up in all types of situations – to tell a bully to cut it out, to confront a friend who uses a racist slur, to report a colleague who engages in corporate fraud. What enables someone to call out bad behavior, even if doing so may have costs?</p>
<h2>The traits of a moral rebel</h2>
<p>First, moral rebels generally <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2015.1012765">feel good about themselves</a>. They tend to have high self-esteem and to feel confident about their own judgment, values and ability. They also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167209346170">believe their own views are superior</a> to those of others, and thus that they have a social responsibility to share those beliefs.</p>
<p>Moral rebels are also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2015.10.002">less socially inhibited than others</a>. They aren’t worried about feeling embarrassed or having an awkward interaction. Perhaps most importantly, they are far less concerned about conforming to the crowd. So, when they have to choose between fitting in and doing the right thing, they will probably choose to do what they see as right. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342510/original/file-20200617-94060-1a795tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342510/original/file-20200617-94060-1a795tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342510/original/file-20200617-94060-1a795tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342510/original/file-20200617-94060-1a795tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342510/original/file-20200617-94060-1a795tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342510/original/file-20200617-94060-1a795tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=724&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342510/original/file-20200617-94060-1a795tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=724&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342510/original/file-20200617-94060-1a795tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=724&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The orbitofrontal cortex (in green on this brain that is facing to the left) looks different in moral rebels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/digital-illustration-of-human-brain-with-royalty-free-illustration/98193711">Dorling Kindersley via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Research in neuroscience reveals that people’s ability to stand up to social influence is reflected in anatomical differences in the brain. People who are more concerned about fitting in show <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.01.012">more gray matter volume in one particular part of the brain</a>, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex. This area right behind your eyebrows creates memories of events that led to negative outcomes. It helps guide you away from things you want to avoid the next time around – such as being rejected by your group. </p>
<p>People who are more concerned about conforming to their group also show <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.12.035">more activity in two other brain circuits</a>; one that responds to social pain – like when you experience rejection – and another that tries to understand others’ thoughts and feelings. In other words, those who feel worst when excluded by their group try the hardest to fit in.</p>
<p>What does this suggest about moral rebels? For some people, feeling like you’re different than everyone else feels really bad, even at a neurological level. For other people, it may not matter as much, which makes it easier for them to stand up to social pressure. </p>
<p>These characteristics are totally agnostic as to what the moral rebel is standing up for. You could be the lone anti-abortion voice in your very liberal family or the lone abortion rights advocate in your very conservative family. In either scenario it’s about standing up to social pressure to stay silent – and that pressure of course could be applied about anything.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342504/original/file-20200617-94101-1j66rwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342504/original/file-20200617-94101-1j66rwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342504/original/file-20200617-94101-1j66rwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342504/original/file-20200617-94101-1j66rwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342504/original/file-20200617-94101-1j66rwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342504/original/file-20200617-94101-1j66rwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342504/original/file-20200617-94101-1j66rwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342504/original/file-20200617-94101-1j66rwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kids learn to stand up for what they believe in when they see their role models doing so.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/girl-jumps-holding-a-sign-while-she-and-her-family-protest-news-photo/1216479646">Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The path of a moral rebel</h2>
<p>What does it take to create a moral rebel?</p>
<p>It helps to have <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-08753-003">seen moral courage in action</a>. Many of the civil rights activists who participated in marches and sit-ins in the southern United States in the 1960s had parents who displayed moral courage and civic engagement, as did many of the Germans who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. Watching people you look up to show moral courage can inspire you to do the same.</p>
<p>A budding moral rebel also needs to feel empathy, imagining the world from someone else’s perspective. Spending time with and really getting to know people from different backgrounds helps. White high school students who had more contact with people from different ethnic groups – in their neighborhood, at school and on sports teams – have higher levels of empathy and see people from different minority groups in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12053">more positive ways</a>.</p>
<p>These same students are more likely to report taking some action if a classmate uses an ethnic slur, such as by directly challenging that person, supporting the victim or telling a teacher. People who are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-010-9109-1">more empathetic</a> are also more likely to defend someone who is being bullied.</p>
<p>Finally, moral rebels need particular skills and practice using them. One study found that teenagers who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01682.x">held their own in an argument with their mother</a>, using reasoned arguments instead of whining, pressure or insults, were the most resistant to peer pressure to use drugs or drink alcohol later on. Why? People who have practiced making effective arguments and sticking with them under pressure are better able to use these same techniques with their peers. </p>
<p>Moral rebels clearly have particular characteristics that enable them to stand up for what’s right. But what about the rest of us? Are we doomed to be the silent bystanders who meekly stand by and don’t dare call out bad behavior?</p>
<p>Fortunately, no. It is possible to develop the ability to stand up to social pressure. In other words, anyone can learn to be a moral rebel.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an article originally published on June 18, 2020.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140829/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine A. Sanderson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Psychologists have identified the characteristics of ‘moral rebels’ who make the tough choice to stand up for their principles in the face of negative consequences.Catherine A. Sanderson, Poler Family Professor and Chair of Psychology, Amherst CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1244692019-10-10T10:00:07Z2019-10-10T10:00:07ZWould you stand up to an oppressive regime or would you conform? Here’s the science<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295044/original/file-20191001-173369-h1ze7k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jasper Savage/Hulu/Channel 4</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://margaretatwood.ca/">Margaret Atwood’s</a> novel, <a href="https://theconversation.com/handmaids-tale-adaptation-takes-margaret-atwoods-narrative-to-ever-bleaker-destinations-95683">The Handmaid’s Tale</a>, described the horror of the authoritarian regime of Gilead. In this theocracy, self-preservation was the best people could hope for, being powerless to kick against the system. But her sequel, <a href="https://theconversation.com/review-the-testaments-margaret-atwoods-sequel-to-the-handmaids-tale-123465">The Testaments</a>, raises the possibility that individuals, with suitable luck, bravery and cleverness, can fight back.</p>
<p>But can they? There are countless examples of past and present monstrous regimes in the real world. And they all raise the question of why people didn’t just rise up against their rulers. Some of us are quick to judge those who conform to such regimes as evil psychopaths – or at least morally inferior to ourselves. </p>
<p>But what are the chances that you would be a heroic rebel in such a scenario, refusing to be complicit in maintaining or even enforcing the system?</p>
<p>To answer this question, let’s start by considering a now <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5014575_The_Logic_of_Appropriateness">classic analysis</a> by American organisational theorist James March and Norwegian political scientist Johan Olsen from 2004.</p>
<p>They argued that human behaviour is governed by two complementary, and very different, “logics”. According to the logic of consequence, we choose our actions like a good economist: weighing up the costs and benefits of the alternative options in the light of our personal objectives. This is basically how we get what we want.</p>
<p>But there is also a second logic, the logic of appropriateness. According to this, outcomes, good or bad, are often of secondary importance – we often choose what to do by asking “What is a person like me supposed to do in a situation like this”? </p>
<p>The idea is backed up by psychological research. Human social interactions <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/01/the-psychology-of-conformity/251371/">depend on our tendency to conform</a> to unwritten rules of appropriate behaviour. Most of us are truthful, polite, don’t cheat when playing board games and follow etiquette. We are happy to let judges or football referees enforce rules. A <a href="https://theconversation.com/conform-to-the-social-norm-why-people-follow-what-other-people-do-107446">recent study</a> showed we even conform to arbitrary norms.</p>
<p>The logic of appropriateness is self-enforcing – we disapprove of, ostracise or report people who lie or cheat. Research has shown that even in anonymous, experimental “games”, people will pay a monetary cost <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/415137a">to punish other people</a> for being uncooperative.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295030/original/file-20191001-173337-1dfr87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295030/original/file-20191001-173337-1dfr87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295030/original/file-20191001-173337-1dfr87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295030/original/file-20191001-173337-1dfr87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295030/original/file-20191001-173337-1dfr87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295030/original/file-20191001-173337-1dfr87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295030/original/file-20191001-173337-1dfr87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Psychopaths?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The logic of appropriateness is therefore crucial to understanding how we can organise ourselves into teams, companies and entire nations. We need shared systems of rules to cooperate – it is easy to see how <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-belfast-riots-helped-us-shed-light-on-the-nature-of-human-cooperation-51423">evolution may have shaped this</a>.</p>
<p>The psychological foundations for this start early. Children as young as three <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/psycho/staff/tomas/pdf/rakoczyNorms.pdf">will protest</a> if arbitrary “rules” of a game are violated. And we all know how punishing it can be to “stick out” in a playground by violating norms of dress, accent or behaviour.</p>
<h2>Authoritarian regimes</h2>
<p>Both logics are required to create and maintain an authoritarian regime. To ensure that we make the “right” personal choices, an oppressive state’s main tools are carrots and sticks – rewarding conformity and punishing even a hint of rebellion. </p>
<p>But personal gain (or survival) alone provides a fragile foundation for an oppressive state. It is easy to see how the logic of appropriateness fits in here, turning from being a force for cooperation to a mechanism for enforcing an oppressive status quo. This logic asks that we follow the “rules” and make sure others do too – often without needing to ask why the rules are the way they are.</p>
<p>Regimes therefore supplement rewards and punishments with self-policed norms, rules and conventions. A “good” party comrade or a member of a religious cult or terrorist group will learn that they are supposed to obey orders, root out opposition and not question authority – and enforce these norms on their fellows. </p>
<p>The authoritarian state is therefore concerned above all with preserving ideology – defining the “right” way to think and behave – so that we can unquestioningly conform to it.</p>
<p>This can certainly help explain the horrors of Nazi Germany – showing it’s not primarily a matter of individual evil. As the philosopher Hannah Arendt <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/insight-therapy/201012/you-are-conformist-is-you-are-human">famously argued</a>, the atrocities of the Holocaust were made possible by normal people, manipulated into conforming to a horribly abnormal set of behavioural norms.</p>
<h2>Would you rebel?</h2>
<p>So how would you or I fare in Gilead? We can be fairly confident that most of us would conform (with more or less discomfort), finding it difficult to shake the feeling that the way things are done is the right and appropriate way.</p>
<p>Just think of the fervour with which people can enforce standards of dress, prohibitions on profane language or dietary norms – however arbitrary these may appear. Indeed, we may feel “morally bound” to protect the party, nation or religion, whatever its character.</p>
<p>A small number of us, however, would rebel – but not primarily, I suspect, based on differences in individual moral character. Rebels, too, need to harness the logic of appropriateness – they need to find different norms and ideals, shared with fellow members of the resistance, or inspired by history or literature. Breaking out of one set of norms requires that we have an available alternative.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296515/original/file-20191010-188783-bd8m5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296515/original/file-20191010-188783-bd8m5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296515/original/file-20191010-188783-bd8m5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296515/original/file-20191010-188783-bd8m5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296515/original/file-20191010-188783-bd8m5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296515/original/file-20191010-188783-bd8m5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296515/original/file-20191010-188783-bd8m5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People giving a Nazi salute, with an unidentified person (possibly August Landmesser or Gustav Wegert) refusing to do so.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">wikipedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That said, some people may <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2190/Y7CA-TBY6-V7LR-76GK">have more naturally non-conformist</a> personalities than others, at least in periods of their lives. Whether such rebels are successful in breaking out, however, may partly depend on how convincingly they can justify to themselves, and defend to others, that we don’t want to conform.</p>
<p>If so, we would expect a tendency to adopt non-standard norms to be linked to verbal ability and perhaps general intelligence in individuals who actually rebel, <a href="https://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/11/01/non-conformity-hidden-driver-behind-positive-relationship-between-iq-and-v">which there’s some evidence to support</a>. </p>
<p>How we react to unfairness may also affect our propensity to rebel. One study found that people who are risk averse and easily trust others are less likely to <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Justice-and-personality%3A-Using-integrative-theories-Colquitt-Scott/82286f777c859285ced18c2c0672a3856cefbef3">react strongly to unfairness</a>. While not proven in the study, it may make such individuals more likely to conform.</p>
<p>Another factor is social circumstances. The upper and middle classes in Germany during the 1920s-1940s were almost <a href="https://theconversation.com/rise-and-fall-in-the-third-reich-nazi-party-members-and-social-advancement-123297">twice as likely</a> to join the Nazi party than those with lower social status. So it may be that those who have the most to lose and/or are keen to climb the social ladder are particularly likely to conform. And, of course, if other members of your social circle are conforming, you may think it’s the “appropriate” thing to do. </p>
<p>Few will fight Gilead after carefully weighing up the consequences – after all, the most likely outcome is failure and obliteration. What drives forward fights against an oppressive society is a rival vision – a vision of equality, liberty and justice, and a sense that these should be defended, whatever the consequences.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124469/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Chater receives funding from ESRC and EPSRC. He is a member of the UK Committee on Climate Change and a director of Decision Technology Ltd. </span></em></p>We all like to think of ourselves as heroes. But according to science, the vast majority of us wouldn’t be prepared to rebel against totalitarian rulers.Nick Chater, Professor of Behavioural Science, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1202982019-07-15T08:47:48Z2019-07-15T08:47:48ZYoung South Africans want to farm. But the system isn’t ready for them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284061/original/file-20190715-173334-13bn9i2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's a perception among young South Africans that farm jobs are back-breaking and financially unappealing.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Persistent unemployment has become <a href="https://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/south-africa/">synonymous with the youth experience</a> across South Africa. Youth unemployment rates are almost <a href="https://www.ilo.org/empent/whatsnew/WCMS_459490/lang--en/index.htm">four times higher</a> than the regional average – 62% of South Africans between 15 and 35 years are <a href="https://www.ilo.org/empent/whatsnew/WCMS_459490/lang--en/index.htm">unemployed</a> and of these 60% have <a href="https://www.section27.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Spaull-2013-CDE-report-South-Africas-Education-Crisis.pdf">never been employed</a>. </p>
<p>Add to this the fact that even those who have jobs are earning below what is considered to be a <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/south-africa/living-wage-individual">monthly living wage</a> and what emerges is youth employment crisis.</p>
<p>The agricultural sector could be a key source of job creation for young people. But conventional opinion has it that they are turning their backs on the sector despite high levels of unemployment. So what gives? </p>
<p>Drawing on personal narratives collected from 573 young people across three provinces in South Africa, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03031853.2018.1564680">recent research</a> has begun building a picture what young people think and feel about work in agriculture. </p>
<p>Overall, the prevailing notion that they are turning their backs on the sector seems to hold true. Over 60% of respondents felt that it was harder to make career decisions relating to agriculture than other careers. </p>
<p>But our research dispels the view that this is because of a lack of interest. Based on our interviews, more than half of those surveyed suggested that they saw a place for agriculture in the long-term visions for their lives. This was either as a useful stepping stone, or as an exciting option in its own right. </p>
<p>The problem wasn’t a lack of interest: rather it had to do with the fact that jobs in agriculture were either back-breaking and financially unappealing – at the subsistence level – or they were in large agri-businesses where workers are often treated appallingly. </p>
<p>These voices present a clear mandate to those interested in the future of youth, land and employment in South Africa: open up an economic space for viable family farming in South Africa and young people will throw their energy into the sector.</p>
<h2>Stigma, risk and reward</h2>
<p>Unsurprisingly, agriculture appears to carry a stronger set of negative stigmas than other careers. Examples included themes around agriculture being for poor and elderly people, on the one hand, or, on the other, for wealthier white people. </p>
<p>Agriculture was also perceived by many as a risky career path that involved a lot of hard work for little financial reward. </p>
<p>One 27-year-old put it this way:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was 17 and had to put through my university application. I sat my parents down and told them that I wanted to do farming as one of my career choices. They said no, farming was for old people and they didn’t put me {through} school to get dirty running after pigs. They wanted me to do an office job. I had to choose between my parents funding and career. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Other themes that emerged included peer pressure, shaming, racism and substantial family pressure when considering agriculture as a career choice.</p>
<p>A 20-year-old from Limpopo said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I once went to a certain farm to buy tomatoes, while I was there, there was a huge argument between the white boss and a worker who put wrong grades of tomatoes, she was kicked and fell on tomatoes in front of the customers, I started to have questions about working in agriculture.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Nevertheless, over a third of the young people we spoke to expressed positive vies about working in agriculture. </p>
<p>Many want to work in agriculture. But they said they battled to navigate the spaces between their own vocational motivations, the available work opportunities and the pressures they encountered from friends and family. </p>
<p>A 25-year-old from Kwa-Zulu Natal put it this way:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I studied agriculture at university. It was a very good career path. I enjoy doing it a lot while my friends were against it, but I carried on {to} finish my year. But the problem came when I have to apply for a job. I didn’t get any job and that was painful to me and it felt like it {was} a waste of time because my parent have faith in me now I’m sitting home with my degree. But I still have hope. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Context</h2>
<p>Stepping back to look to contextualise youth narratives within the broader food system presents good news and bad. </p>
<p>The bad news is that there aren’t enough farmers who fill the space between subsistence agriculture and large-scale agri-businesses. This “missing middle” leaves young people feeling trapped.</p>
<p>They either feel trapped by the poverty, isolation and backbreaking drudgery associated with rural subsistence agriculture. Or they face the unappealing prospects of unskilled minimum wage jobs on increasingly industrialised (and often racialised) commercial farming operations. </p>
<p>Seen in this light, it’s not surprising that young people are turning away from agriculture. The choices they are making simply reflect the fact that they are avoiding work that is demeaning. </p>
<p>There is some good news: many young people see potential. They aspire to entrepreneurial work with a deeper social purpose. Encouragingly, many believe that the act of working on the land to produce food is meaningful work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120298/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Metelerkamp received funding for this research from The National Research Foundation of South Africa and the Southern Africa Food Lab. He is currently affiliated with the Environmental Learning Research Center and the Center For Complex Systems in Transition.</span></em></p>Agriculture appears to carry a stronger set of negative stigmas than other careers, but this is only half the story.Luke Metelerkamp, Post-doctoral research fellow, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1115362019-05-02T20:14:31Z2019-05-02T20:14:31ZHow hard is it to say ‘no’ to drugs?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261788/original/file-20190303-110134-73eo9m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C5%2C3982%2C1988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If most of your peer group is experimenting with substances, you will almost certainly be offered them. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nina Maile Gordon/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/i-need-to-know-the-conversation-launches-a-qanda-service-for-teens-103432">I Need to Know</a> is an ongoing series for teens in search of reliable, confidential advice about life’s tricky questions</em>.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>As someone who has never touched drugs before, how hard is it really to say no to illicit substances?</p>
<p>Anonymous, 17, Newington</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Key points</h2>
<ul>
<li>The easiest way to say “no” is by explaining why you don’t want to take drugs (while at the same time not sounding judgemental)</li>
<li>alcohol is the most commonly used drug</li>
<li>most young people don’t use illicit drugs.</li>
</ul>
<p>Hi and thanks for the question. Can young people <em>really</em> “just say no” to illicit drugs? There are a few things to consider, so let’s talk them through. </p>
<h2>1. Are all teenagers trying drugs?</h2>
<p>It might feel as though your friends are going to go through a phase of experimenting with illicit drugs. But in fact, <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/illicit-use-of-drugs/2016-ndshs-detailed/data">most young people don’t take illicit drugs</a>.</p>
<p>Alcohol is by far the most commonly used drug, though rates of alcohol use are generally decreasing. A <a href="https://beta.health.gov.au/resources/publications/secondary-school-students-use-of-tobacco-alcohol-and-other-drugs-in-2017">national survey of secondary students</a> found 46% of 12-17 year olds had tried alcohol in the past year, but only 25% had in the past month. Similarly, <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/illicit-use-of-drugs/ndshs-2016-detailed/contents/table-of-contents">another survey</a> found young people were trying alcohol for the first time later (about age 16) and more were abstaining than ever before (82%). </p>
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<iframe title="Percentage of Australian teenagers who have tried illicit drugs" aria-label="Split Bars" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/e6SgY/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="237"></iframe>
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<p>Cannabis is often the first illicit drug young people are exposed to (about 7% of 12-17 year-olds have tried it). Later on, generally in your early 20s, you’ll start to encounter people trying harder drugs such as ecstasy and amphetamines (see in the graph above how this number dramatically increases between the two age groups). Even then, <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/15db8c15-7062-4cde-bfa4-3c2079f30af3/21028a.pdf.aspx?inline=true">the majority</a> of people don’t regularly use these drugs. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-who-uses-illicit-drugs-in-australia-110169">Three Charts on who uses illicit drugs in Australia</a>
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</em>
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<h2>2. Will people actually offer me drugs?</h2>
<p>There is a widespread assumption that drugs are frequently offered to people your age. This isn’t always the case. Drug use is an illegal activity, so people who have them and who sell them tend to be a little cautious who they talk to about it. You might not ever be offered them directly. </p>
<p>But if most of your peer group are experimenting with substances, you almost certainly will be offered them. So…</p>
<h2>3. How to say ‘no’ without it being a big deal</h2>
<p>Although most young people don’t use drugs, <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/36687719/DUFF_Party_Drugs_and_Normalization_Paper.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1550194529&Signature=avglowgmbnW%2FCaMG%2FKkv0gE9Bqg%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DParty_Drugs_and_Party_People_Examining.pdf">some studies</a> point out they’re open to other people doing so. This is referred to as the “normalisation” of illicit substance use: in simple terms, it’s being OK with your friends drinking alcohol or doing drugs even if you choose not to. </p>
<p>If you don’t want to drink or take drugs, you’ll find yourself in a position where you have to explain why. It might be useful to say something like:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s not my thing, but I don’t care if you’re into it. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Or if you feel like you need to give a reason, perhaps,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I always react badly when I drink alcohol/smoke joints, so I just don’t like it. </p>
<p>I have a game tomorrow and don’t want to feel bad.</p>
<p>I have bad come downs, so the high’s just not worth it for me.</p>
<p>I have a family thing tomorrow and don’t want to be hungover / coming down.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Hot tip: try not to make the other people feel like you you are judging them, but don’t feel like you need to justify why you don’t want to use drugs either.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261618/original/file-20190301-110143-w21j4d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261618/original/file-20190301-110143-w21j4d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261618/original/file-20190301-110143-w21j4d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261618/original/file-20190301-110143-w21j4d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261618/original/file-20190301-110143-w21j4d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261618/original/file-20190301-110143-w21j4d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261618/original/file-20190301-110143-w21j4d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nina Maile Gordon/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<h2>4. Can you be the only one in the group who doesn’t use them?</h2>
<p>When you do something you don’t want to do, you won’t feel good about it or about yourself. So you might have your friends, but you might not be happy – that’s not a great trade-off!</p>
<p>Make a point of being around people and friends who make you feel good. You might not enjoy hanging out with people when they’re affected by drugs, so don’t! Spend time with people who don’t pressure you to do things, and perhaps skip the parties, meet-ups and hangouts where you think there’s a good chance you won’t have fun.</p>
<p>If your friends are using drugs a lot and it’s impacting their lives in other ways, you might want to help them get some help – <a href="https://au.reachout.com/articles/how-to-help-a-friend-with-drug-addiction">here are some tips on how to do that</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-need-to-know-my-friend-is-using-ice-and-smoking-pot-what-do-i-do-111525">I Need to Know: 'My friend is using ice and smoking pot. What do I do?'</a>
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<p>If you’re the only person in your group not using drugs, you might want to find some other like-minded friends – perhaps through school, a part-time job or sport.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111536/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Daley has received funding from the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education and previously worked for the Youth Support + Advocacy Service. </span></em></p>While the majority of teenagers don’t take illicit drugs, there’s still a chance you might be offered them. Here’s how to say no, according to an expert.Kathryn Daley, Senior Lecturer & Program Manager - Youth Work and Youth Studies. School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/992722018-07-18T10:42:16Z2018-07-18T10:42:16ZThe brainwashing myth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228059/original/file-20180717-44079-3glegz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We'll say someone's brainwashed only when we disagree with their beliefs or actions.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/human-heads-brains-artificial-intelligence-concept-580559923">lolloj/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than 40 years ago, my two sisters, Carolyn Layton and Annie Moore, were among those who planned the <a href="https://wrldrels.org/2016/10/08/peoples-temple/">mass deaths in Jonestown</a> on Nov. 18, 1978. </p>
<p>Part of a movement called Peoples Temple, which was led by a charismatic pastor named Jim Jones, they had moved with 1,000 other Americans to the South American nation of Guyana in order to create a communal utopia. Under pressure from concerned relatives and the media, however, they implemented a plan of group murder and suicide. Jonestown is remembered in the phrase “drinking the Kool-Aid,” because more than 900 people died after drinking poison-laced punch. My two sisters and nephew were among those who died. </p>
<p>In the wake of this tragedy, you might think that I would be amenable to the idea that they had been brainwashed. It would absolve their heinous actions and offer an easy explanation for their behavior. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/13/health/brainwashing-mind-control-patty-hearst/index.html">Many argue</a> that people join “cults” – or “new religious movements,” the term scholars prefer – because they’ve been brainwashed. The thinking goes that they’ve undergone some sort of programming that allows others to manipulate them against their will.</p>
<p>How else to explain why people become immersed in fringe groups that seem so alien to their previous, more socially acceptable lives? How else to account for the fact that – in some cases – they’ll even commit crimes?</p>
<p>But <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-label-cult-gets-in-the-way-of-understanding-new-religions-94386">like the word “cult,”</a> the term brainwashing seems to only be applied to groups we disapprove of. We don’t say that soldiers are brainwashed to kill other people; that’s basic training. We don’t say that fraternity members are brainwashed to haze their members; that’s peer pressure. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-label-cult-gets-in-the-way-of-understanding-new-religions-94386">Why the label 'cult' gets in the way of understanding new religions</a>
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</em>
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<p><a href="https://furthermoore.weebly.com/">As a scholar of religious studies</a>, I’m disheartened by how casually the word “brainwashing” gets thrown around, whether it’s used to describe <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/the-wrap/article/Rose-McGowan-Says-Trump-Voters-Are-Victims-of-12657034.php">a politician’s supporters</a>, or <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/mette-ivie-harrison/are-we-mormons-a-cult_b_7485784.html">individuals who are devoutly religious</a>.</p>
<p>I reject the idea of brainwashing for three reasons: It is pseudoscientific, ignores research-based explanations for human behavior and dehumanizes people by denying their free will.</p>
<h2>No scientific grounding</h2>
<p>Brainwashing is used so frequently to describe religious conversions that it has a certain panache to it, as if it were based in scientific theory.</p>
<p>But brainwashing presents what scientists call an “untestable hypothesis.” In order for a theory to be considered scientifically credible, it must be falsifiable; that is, it must be able to be proven incorrect. For example, as soon as things fall up instead of down, we will know that the theory of gravity is false. </p>
<p>Since we cannot really prove that brainwashing does not exist, it fails to meet the standard criteria of the scientific method.</p>
<p>In addition, there seems to be no way to have a conversation about brainwashing: you either accept it or you don’t. You can’t argue with someone who says “I was brainwashed.” But real science seeks argument and disagreement, as scholars challenge their colleagues’ theories and presuppositions. </p>
<p>Finally, if brainwashing really existed, more people would join and stay in these groups. But <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Making_of_a_Moonie.html?id=zXSsPQAACAAJ">studies have shown</a> that members of new religions generally leave the group within a few years of joining.</p>
<p>Even advocates of brainwashing theories are abandoning the term in the face of such criticism, using more scientific-sounding expressions such as “<a href="http://www.icsahome.com/articles/2012-paul-r--martin-lecture-thought-reform">thought reform</a>” and “<a href="https://culteducation.com/group/798-abusive-controlling-relationships/3260-coercive-persuasion-and-attitude-changes.html">coercive persuasion</a>” in its stead.</p>
<h2>Conversion, conditioning and coercion</h2>
<p>Once we move beyond brainwashing as an explanation for people’s behaviors, we can actually learn quite a bit about why individuals are drawn to new ideas and alternative religions or make choices at odds with their previous lifestyles. </p>
<p>There are at least three scientific, neutral and precise terms that can replace brainwashing.</p>
<p>The first is “conversion,” which describes an individual’s striking change in attitude, emotion or viewpoint. It’s typically used in the context of religious transformation, but it can describe other radical changes – from voting for the “wrong” candidate to joining Earth First! </p>
<p>It can be sudden and dramatic, as in <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-dominic-crossan/paul-and-damascus_b_1348778.html">the case of St. Paul</a>, who had been persecuting the early church but then stopped after supposedly hearing a voice from heaven. Or it can be a slow and gradual process, similar to the way <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/An_Autobiography.html?id=VsMLYjEsyaEC">Mahatma Gandhi</a> came to understand his role and mission as a leader for Indian independence. </p>
<p>We usually think of conversion as a voluntary process. But when we look at accounts of well-respected converts – <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_(Augustine)">St. Augustine</a> comes to mind – we find exactly what the philosopher William James <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Varieties_of_Religious_Experience">said we would</a>: Converts begin by being passive recipients of a transcendent, life-changing event. They don’t plan for it; it just happens. But they cannot go back to the way things were before their experience.</p>
<p>Next, there’s conditioning, which refers to the psychological process of learning to behave in a certain way in response to certain stimuli. As we grow up and experience life, we become conditioned by parents, teachers, friends and society to think and feel in certain predictable ways. We get rewarded for some things we do and punished for others. This influences how we behave. There is nothing evil or nefarious about this process.</p>
<p>Studies have shown that many of the people who seek out new religions may be <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283631956_A_critique_of_Brainwashing_claims_about_new_religious_movements">predisposed or conditioned</a> to finding a group that fosters their worldview. </p>
<p>But what about the nice people who, in rare cases, end up doing terrible things after joining a new religious movement? </p>
<p>Again, the process of conditioning seems to offer some explanation. For example, peer pressure has the powerful ability to condition people to conform to specific roles they are assigned. In <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/the-real-lesson-of-the-stanford-prison-experiment">the Stanford Prison Experiment</a>, participants were randomly assigned the role of guard and prisoner – with the guards soon becoming abusive and the inmates becoming passive. Meanwhile, deference to authority, which Stanley Milgram studied in his <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/01/rethinking-one-of-psychologys-most-infamous-experiments/384913/">famous 1961 experiment</a>, may encourage people to do what they know is wrong. In the case of Milgram’s experiment, participants applied what they believed were electric shocks to individuals, even as they heard simulated screams of pain. </p>
<p>And finally, coercion can also help explain why people may act against their own values, even committing crimes on occasion.</p>
<p>If someone is told to do something – and threatened with physical, emotional or spiritual harm if they don’t – it’s coercion. Just because someone carries out an order, it doesn’t mean they agree with it. Prisoners of war <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-brainwashing-and-how-it-shaped-america-180963400/">may publicly denounce their home country</a> or claim allegiance to the enemy just to survive. When they are released from captivity, however, they revert to their true beliefs. </p>
<p>In other words, coercion – or exhaustion, or hunger – can make people do things they might not otherwise do. We don’t need a theory of thought reform to understand the power of fear.</p>
<h2>A denial of agency</h2>
<p>True believers certainly exist. My sisters fall into that category. They sincerely promoted the cause of the Peoples Temple – no matter how misguided it was under the leadership of Jim Jones – because of their deep commitment to its ideals. This commitment arose from their conversion experiences and their gradual, conditioned acceptance of ethical misbehavior.</p>
<p>I do not consider them brainwashed, however. They made decisions and choices more or less freely. They knew what they were doing. <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-deaths-of-76-branch-davidians-in-april-1993-could-have-been-avoided-so-why-didnt-anyone-care-90816">The same is true for members of the Branch Davidians</a>: They accepted and believed the word of God as interpreted by David Koresh. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228062/original/file-20180717-44097-zklitz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228062/original/file-20180717-44097-zklitz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228062/original/file-20180717-44097-zklitz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228062/original/file-20180717-44097-zklitz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228062/original/file-20180717-44097-zklitz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228062/original/file-20180717-44097-zklitz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228062/original/file-20180717-44097-zklitz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228062/original/file-20180717-44097-zklitz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Bodies of victims of Jonestown mass suicide are loaded from U.S. Army helicopter at Georgetown’s international airport, Nov. 23, 1977.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Watchf-Associated-Press-International-News-Guya-/6f643dcc31fe47c9b807b587d1ed03a5/5/0">AP Photo</a></span>
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<p>If brainwashing actually existed, we would expect to see many more dangerous people running around, planning to carry out reprehensible schemes.</p>
<p>Instead, we find that people frequently abandon their beliefs <a href="https://global.oup.com/ushe/product/comprehending-cults-9780195420098?cc=us&lang=en&">as soon as they leave coercive environments</a>. This fact does not address <a href="https://www.benzablocki.net/exit-cost-analysis/">the difficulty of leaving certain groups</a>, whether they’re political parties, religious movements, social clubs or even business organizations. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, people can leave these groups and abandon their beliefs – and do.</p>
<p>Should we consider situational hurdles and peer pressure forms of brainwashing? If that were the case, then everything – and nothing – would constitute mind control.</p>
<p>We have studies that illuminate processes of conversion and conditioning. We have historical examples that demonstrate what people do under compulsion. </p>
<p>The brainwashing explanation ignores this social scientific research. It infantilizes individuals by denying them personal agency and suggesting that they are not responsible for their actions. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/nyregion/jurors-reject-brainwashing-defense-in-attempted-murder-trial.html">The courts don’t buy brainwashing</a>. </p>
<p>Why should we?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99272/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Moore is the Site Manager for Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple, a digital archive hosted by San Diego State University.</span></em></p>Forty years ago, Rebecca Moore’s two sisters helped plan the Jonestown massacre. But she refuses to say they were brainwashed, arguing that it prevents us from truly understanding their behavior.Rebecca Moore, Emerita Professor of Religious Studies, San Diego State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/893772018-02-16T04:29:26Z2018-02-16T04:29:26ZThere are four types of drinker – which one are you?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206713/original/file-20180216-131013-1iyuzgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Generally people drink to either increase positive emotions or decrease negative ones.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s easy to see alcohol consumption being a result of thousands of years of ritual and a lifetime of habit. But have you ever stopped to consider why it is you choose to drink? Knowing what motivates people to drink is important to better understanding their needs when it comes to encouraging them to drink less, or in a less harmful way.</p>
<h2>The four types</h2>
<p>Personally, everyone can come up with many reasons why he or she is drinking, which makes a scientific understanding of the reasons difficult. But there is something called the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3290306">motivational model of alcohol use</a>, that argues we drink because we expect a change in how we feel after we do. Originally developed to help treat alcohol dependence, the ideas described in the model led to a new understanding of what motivates people to drink. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206707/original/file-20180216-131010-ltl2jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206707/original/file-20180216-131010-ltl2jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206707/original/file-20180216-131010-ltl2jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206707/original/file-20180216-131010-ltl2jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206707/original/file-20180216-131010-ltl2jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206707/original/file-20180216-131010-ltl2jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206707/original/file-20180216-131010-ltl2jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Some will sip champagne or hold a glass of wine on social occasions to avoid pressure to drink.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/CRCRyD0rxUw">Photo by Nik MacMillan on Unsplash</a></span>
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<p>More precisely, the model assumes people drink to increase positive feelings or decrease negative ones. They’re also motivated by internal rewards such as enhancement of a desired personal emotional state, or by external rewards such as social approval. </p>
<p>This results in all drinking motives falling into one of four categories: enhancement (because it’s exciting), coping (to forget about my worries), social (to celebrate), and conformity (to fit in). Drinkers can be high or low in any number of drinking motives – people are not necessarily one type of drinker or the other. </p>
<p>All other factors – such as genetics, personality or environment – are just shaping our drinking motives, according to this model. So drinking motives are a final pathway to alcohol use. That is, they’re the gateway through which all these other influences are channelled.</p>
<h2>1. Social drinking</h2>
<p>To date, nearly all the research on drinking motives has been done on teens and young adults. Across cultures and countries, social motives are the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28337801">most common reason</a> young people give for drinking alcohol. In this model, social drinking may be about increasing the amount of fun you are having with your friends. This fits in with the idea that drinking is mainly a social pastime. Drinking for social motives is associated with moderate alcohol use.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/young-australians-are-drinking-less-but-older-people-are-still-hitting-the-bottle-hard-90024">Young Australians are drinking less – but older people are still hitting the bottle hard</a>
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<h2>2. Drinking to conform</h2>
<p>When people only drink on social occasions because they want to fit in – not because it’s a choice they would normally make – they drink less than those who drink mainly for other reasons. These are the people who will sip a glass of champagne for a toast, or keep a wine in their hand to avoid feeling different from the drinkers around them. </p>
<p>In the last couple of years, programs like <a href="https://www.hellosundaymorning.org/">Hello Sunday Morning</a> have been encouraging people to take a break from drinking. And by making this more socially acceptable, they may also be decreasing the negative feedback some people receive for not drinking, although this is a theory that needs testing. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-our-friends-want-us-to-drink-and-dislike-it-when-we-dont-68430">Why do our friends want us to drink and dislike it when we don't?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3. Drinking for enhancement</h2>
<p>Beyond simply drinking to socialise, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16460883">there are two types</a> of adolescents and young adults with a particular risky combination of personality and drinking motive preference.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206728/original/file-20180216-131013-12t2uve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206728/original/file-20180216-131013-12t2uve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206728/original/file-20180216-131013-12t2uve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206728/original/file-20180216-131013-12t2uve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206728/original/file-20180216-131013-12t2uve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206728/original/file-20180216-131013-12t2uve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206728/original/file-20180216-131013-12t2uve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206728/original/file-20180216-131013-12t2uve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People who drink for enhancement are usually males and extroverted.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>First are those who drink for enhancement motives. They are more likely to be extroverted, impulsive, and aggressive. These young people (often male) are more likely to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16460883">actively seek to feel drunk</a> – as well as other extreme sensations – and have a risk-taking personality. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hedonism-not-only-leads-to-binge-drinking-its-part-of-the-solution-81751">Hedonism not only leads to binge drinking, it's part of the solution</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>4. Drinking to cope</h2>
<p>Second, those who drink mainly for coping motives have higher levels of neuroticism, low level of agreeableness and a negative view of the self. These drinkers may be using alcohol to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17716823">cope with other problems</a> in their life, particularly those related to anxiety and depression. Coping drinkers are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16095785">more likely to be female</a>, drink more heavily and experience more alcohol-related problems than those who drink for other reasons.</p>
<p>While it may be effective in the short term, drinking to cope with problems leads to worse long-term consequences. This may be because the problems that led to the drinking in the first place are not being addressed. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>There is promising research that suggests knowing the motives of heavy drinkers can lead to interventions to reduce harmful drinking. For instance, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335515001813">one study found</a> that tailoring counselling sessions to drinking motives decreased consumption in young women, although there was no significant decrease in men.</p>
<p>This research stream is limited by the fact we really only know about the drinking motives of those in their teens and early 20s. Our understanding of why adults are drinking is limited, something our research group is hoping to study in the future. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/beer-bongs-and-baby-boomers-the-unlikely-tale-of-drug-and-alcohol-use-in-the-over-50s-82753">Beer, bongs and baby boomers: the unlikely tale of drug and alcohol use in the over 50s</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Next time you have a drink, have a think about why you are choosing to do so. There are many people out there having a drink at night to relax. But if you’re aiming to get drunk, you have a higher chance than most of experiencing harm. </p>
<p>Alternatively, if you are trying to drink your problems away, it’s worth remembering those problems will still be there in the morning.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89377/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emmanuel Kuntsche receives funding from the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education. He has also received funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, Swiss Foundation for Alcohol Research, Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, ZEPRA Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung Switzerland and The Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Problems
. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Callinan receives funding from the Australian Research Council for a Discovery Early Career Research Award. She has also received funding from the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, the National Health and Medical Research Council, VicHealth and Healthway for work on projects other than this one.</span></em></p>There are many reasons people drink, including to have fun or cope with other problems. Knowing their motivations will allow us to tailor programs to help those who may struggle with alcohol use.Emmanuel Kuntsche, Director of the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe UniversitySarah Callinan, Research Fellow at the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/775012017-06-27T14:57:34Z2017-06-27T14:57:34ZHow partnerships enriched the learning for Nairobi slum children<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175159/original/file-20170622-12039-1f57aed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pupils from Kibera, one of the largest slums in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Noor Khamis </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Eight years of research in low-income neighbourhoods of Nairobi have opened my eyes to the significant role of school, family and community partnerships. Not only are they crucial for student achievement, they can <a href="http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=slcepartnerships">narrow the performance gap</a> between children in high and low income settings.</p>
<p>My work in Nairobi confirms findings from research that stretches back over two decades in different contexts. For instance, renowned Harvard social analyst Lisbeth Schorr observed in her <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Common-Purpose-Strengthening-Families-Neighborhoods/dp/0385475330">book</a> that social programmes taken to scale resulted in the transformation of poor neighbourhoods and communities. </p>
<p>The positive results suggest that a host of positive outcomes can be achieved when communities <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED545474.pdf">partner</a> with schools. </p>
<p>My research showed that forging a partnership between family, community and school enables parents to take part in the academic success of their children. Parents acquire knowledge, skills and confidence for better parenting. This in turn enables them to improve their economic lot and become better citizens. </p>
<p>The three-way partnerships also contribute to social capital. <a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/matsueda/courses/587/readings/Coleman%201988.pdf">Social capital</a> refers to relationships among and between different actors for the purpose of achieving a common good. Therefore, the partnership between family, community and schools improves the interconnections between the institutions. This in turn enriches the relationships between parents and their children for academic success. </p>
<p>Schools can also <a href="http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=slcepartnerships">draw</a> on resources external to them – the families and the community – to bridge any challenges they may face in the way of the children’s education. </p>
<p>As a result, parents are thrust to the centre of this relationship as a resource for the improvement of their children and the schools. Parents cease to be distant observers who are far removed from the education of their children. Families can draw from these new networks to enable their children to succeed in school.</p>
<p>My work over the past three years revolved around the practical application of this paradigm shift in two informal settlements in Nairobi under the <a href="http://aphrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Improving-learning-outcomes.pdf">“Improving Learning Outcomes”</a> project. The two relatively poor urban settlements of Korogocho and Viwandani had <a href="http://aphrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ERP-III-Report.pdf">poor learning outcomes at primary school</a> level and low transition to secondary school.</p>
<p>A 2010 study in Nairobi put the <a href="http://aphrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ERP-III-policy-brief-5.pdf">transition rate</a> from primary to secondary school in slum schools at 46%. The primary school completion among slum children stood at 76%. The transition rate compared poorly to the non-slum at an average of 72% transition and while 92% had completed primary school. Despite the introduction of free day secondary education in 2008 which was supposed to reduce the cost of schooling for low income groups, 27% of pupils still don’t make the transition to secondary school. </p>
<p>Understanding the reasons for this and designing interventions was a major part of our project. </p>
<h2>Parental involvement</h2>
<p>The positive association between the involvement of <a href="http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/parental-involvement-and-student-achievement-a-meta-analysis">parents and student achievement</a> has consistently been documented by scholars for some time now. Parental involvement includes communication with teachers and others working in a school, helping with school work at home and volunteering at school. Attending school events, such as parent-teacher meetings and conferences is also important. </p>
<p>Children of actively involved parents perform better in school, learn better and have stronger problem solving skills. They also attend school regularly, enjoy their schooling, and have <a href="http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2683&context=sspapers">fewer behavioural problems</a>. </p>
<p>The main interventions during our research in Nairobi included:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>after school support with homework and mentoring in life skills,</p></li>
<li><p>counselling for parents on active involvement in their children’s schooling, including support with homework. They were encouraged to limit household chores and educated on child labour, </p></li>
<li><p>secondary school transition subsidies. This was a transition from primary to secondary school, and </p></li>
<li><p>mentoring of students in leadership, a component that we added in the expansion phase.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>We worked with community leaders to encourage a closer working relationship between the community, parents and the school. For instance, the community leaders encouraged parents to support their children’s education, particularly girls. This included encouraging a working relationship between girls their parents and teachers. </p>
<p>Parents believed that interacting with teachers was important because it helped reduce the probability of children becoming truant. They also counted on interaction with teachers to reduce instances of peer pressure. </p>
<p>The community leaders support for girls’ education persisted over the course of our three year work. This was particularly evident in their support to the parental component of the intervention. The community, built a supportive relationship on education and understanding the social change and peer pressure faced by the youth.</p>
<p>The result was improved learning outcomes, particularly in numeracy where girls recorded a 20 percentage point improvement in scores. There is also evidence that girls who participated in the programme had higher educational aspirations, with a substantial proportion of girls whose highest education aspiration was completing secondary school aspiring to acquire university education. </p>
<p>Transition to secondary school rates in Korogocho and Viwandani among the 2013 cohort of girls who participated in the project stood at 68%. This was a 22% improvement over the 2010 statistic of 46% (both girls and boys). Although the rate was still lower than the national average in 2010 by 9 percentage points, it represented a much reduced gap between urban slum children and the national average.</p>
<p>Among those girls who made a transition to secondary school in 2014, three girls joined prestigious girls’ national schools. National schools are the best-resourced and admit the highest performing students from across all counties in Kenya. </p>
<p>In 2015, three girls from Korogocho who qualified for the subsidy to join secondary also went on to qualify for a prestigious <a href="http://equitygroupfoundation.com/wingstofly/">scholarship</a> programme which targets gifted but economically and socially marginalised students. </p>
<p>Our findings show that the education outcomes of young people can be improved with targeted interventions. At the centre lies the participation of partners - community, family and schools.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77501/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benta A. Abuya does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Education outcomes of young people can be improved with targeted interventions. At the centre lies the participation of partners – community, family and schools.Benta A. Abuya, Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research CenterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/704062017-01-02T20:20:56Z2017-01-02T20:20:56ZTen reasons some of us should cut back on alcohol<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150694/original/image-20161219-24307-1xvmqyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">You may have let loose for the silly season, but there are some good reasons to cut back in the new year. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com.au</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>At this time of year, alcohol promotions, sales and consumption are prominent. Many of us enjoy celebrating a year ended, work and family gatherings, a holiday and a time to kick back and relax. But it can also be a time when we experience adverse consequences of our own or someone else’s drinking. Many of us don’t treat alcohol with the respect the drug demands.</p>
<p>Some of us seriously <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-how-do-i-know-if-i-drink-too-much-61857">underestimate how much we drink</a>, so perhaps the first step to deciding if we need to cut back is to consider how many <a href="http://www.alcohol.gov.au/internet/alcohol/publishing.nsf/content/drinksguide-cnt">standard drinks</a> are in that glass of wine, beer or spirit. A miscalculation increases the risk of drinking outside the <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-topics/alcohol-guidelines">low risk guidelines</a>. Pouring your own drinks, topping up a glass before it’s finished, or not paying attention to your consumption influences whether you drink more than intended.</p>
<p>Here are some reasons why you might think about cutting down on drinking.</p>
<h2>1. Improving your health</h2>
<p>Reducing alcohol means you might find it easier to <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/77/5/1312.short">manage your weight</a>. Some drinks have as many calories as high fat foods. </p>
<p>In one <a href="http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301643">large English study</a>, alcohol represented a large proportion of all calories consumed (over 25% for men and nearly 20% for women) on the heaviest drinking day - and these are calories with little or no nutritional value. Not surprisingly, there was a link with obesity, but the relationship is complex. Some heavy drinkers do not eat well, partly contributing to the paradoxical observation that some heavy drinkers are underweight rather than overweight.</p>
<p>Health problems such as liver disease, brain injury, cancer and heart problems are strongly linked to drinking alcohol, and <a href="http://nceta.flinders.edu.au/files/6212/5548/2896/EN383.pdf">the more you drink the greater the risk</a>. People with pre-existing mental and physical health vulnerabilities are more at risk.</p>
<h2>2. Improving your mood and sleep</h2>
<p>Excessive alcohol use can increase the risk of mental and physical health problems. Depression and anxiety are more common after heavy drinking and people who drink heavily have <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002934305000082">worse mental health outcomes</a>. </p>
<p>If you have trouble sleeping, cutting back on alcohol might help. You might fall asleep more quickly after drinking, but heavy drinking can result in poor quality sleep, meaning worse <a href="https://theconversation.com/got-a-hangover-heres-whats-happening-in-your-body-51027">hangover</a> effects.</p>
<h2>3. Improving your relationships</h2>
<p>Alcohol-affected choices are not always the best ones - you might think you’re the life of the party, but others may be less impressed. </p>
<p>Have you seen <a href="https://thefunniesetc.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/new-government-alcohol-warning-labels/">this</a> before? - “WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to believe ex-lovers are really dying for you to telephone them at four in the morning.” </p>
<p>But even more serious relationship problems can be related to alcohol. One <a href="http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/publications/monographs/monograph-68">recent Australian report</a> found approximately a third of all intimate partner violence has a link to alcohol. </p>
<p>If drinking is causing friction with friends, partners or family members, cutting back can make a dramatic difference. </p>
<h2>4. Saving money</h2>
<p>Australian households on average <a href="http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/CB07CC895DCE2829CA2579020015D8FD/$File/65300_2009-10.pdf">spend the same amount on alcohol</a> as they do on domestic fuel and power. Drink less and you’ll make a dent on the nearly A$2000 average annual drink bill.</p>
<h2>5. Protecting your baby’s well-being</h2>
<p>If you are thinking about pregnancy or you are pregnant, the <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-topics/alcohol-guidelines">safest option is not to drink</a>. Drinking before breastfeeding is not a safe option because some of your alcohol will find its way into the breast milk. The more you drink, the greater the risk to your baby’s wellbeing. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150837/original/image-20161219-24265-1gmhupa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150837/original/image-20161219-24265-1gmhupa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150837/original/image-20161219-24265-1gmhupa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150837/original/image-20161219-24265-1gmhupa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150837/original/image-20161219-24265-1gmhupa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150837/original/image-20161219-24265-1gmhupa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150837/original/image-20161219-24265-1gmhupa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150837/original/image-20161219-24265-1gmhupa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s safest not to drink at all while pregnant.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some evidence is now suggesting <a href="http://www.connections.edu.au/researchfocus/fathers-and-alcohol-implications-preconception-pregnancy-infant-and-childhood-health">fathers should think about their drinking</a> too. There is <a href="http://www.connections.edu.au/researchfocus/fathers-and-alcohol-implications-preconception-pregnancy-infant-and-childhood-health">emerging evidence</a> alcohol consumption by the father can have an impact on pregnancy health, on maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy, on fetal outcomes, and on infant health outcomes. But we need more evidence about what level of drinking is associated with the level of risk.</p>
<h2>6. Avoiding dependency (if there’s a family history)</h2>
<p>You should consider cutting back your drinking if there is a close family member who has a history of dependence. This <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-topics/alcohol-guidelines">increases your own risk of becoming alcohol dependent</a>.</p>
<h2>7. Interactions with other drugs</h2>
<p>If you use other drugs, including medications or illicit drugs, you significantly increase risk to your health by drinking alcohol. For example, alcohol can combine with depressant drugs such as those used to treat pain to increase the risk of impaired driving and sometimes the risk of overdose. It’s important to be aware of this increased risk and to seek professional advice, for example from an addiction specialist or your GP.</p>
<h2>8. Avoiding alcohol-related injuries in the young</h2>
<p>Young people need to think about their drinking. They are especially at risk <a href="http://ndri.curtin.edu.au/local/docs/pdf/naip/naip014.pdf">of alcohol-related injuries</a>. Evidence identifies how adolescent alcohol use can <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11920-016-0689-y">disrupt brain development</a>, which can affect capacity to learn, make good decisions and do well at school.</p>
<h2>9. Avoiding alcohol-related health conditions in the old</h2>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dar.12301/pdf">As you age</a> you are more likely to experience health conditions that are exacerbated by alcohol use, and some medications should not be combined with drinking. </p>
<p>Changes in your body composition can mean you end up more affected by alcohol, and older people are more at risk of <a href="http://ndri.curtin.edu.au/local/docs/pdf/naip/naip008.pdf">alcohol related falls and injury</a>.</p>
<h2>10. Avoiding intoxication, poor behaviour and risk taking</h2>
<p>Intoxication can result in a range of injuries associated with the workplace, driving and violence. If you put yourself and others at risk because of intoxication, you can reduce that risk by drinking less, drinking slower and only with or after food. Or consider if drinking is appropriate at all in these circumstances.</p>
<p>It’s important to think not just about how much you drink. There are some situations that increase the risks. If you are operating machinery, swimming, driving or supervising children, the risks increase dramatically, even with small amounts of alcohol. And not just when you’re drinking - you might be impaired when you are hungover.</p>
<p>If you do drink, know how much you are drinking, and what the risks are – enjoy yourself but treat alcohol with respect. Small changes can make a big difference to your quality of life without denting your social life. But if alcohol is taking a central role in your life, <a href="http://www.druginfo.adf.org.au/contact-numbers/help-and-support">seek help</a> – it can make a difference.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70406/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Allsop receives funding from the Australian Government and from competitive research funding organisations. He is the Deputy Chair of the Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol and Drugs, an expert advisory body to the Australian Government. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tina Lam is supported by the WA Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway), the Commonwealth Department of Health and competitive grant sources.</span></em></p>Many of us don’t treat alcohol with the respect the drug demands.Steve Allsop, Professor, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin UniversityTina Lam, Research Fellow at the National Drug Research Institute, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/684302016-12-28T21:13:51Z2016-12-28T21:13:51ZWhy do our friends want us to drink and dislike it when we don’t?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149768/original/image-20161213-25516-1kpj6l9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Our friends may not like when we don't drink because it reflects their own drinking practices. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com.au</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Anyone who has ever tried to give up drinking, or goes somewhere and says they’re not drinking, knows people encourage us to drink and are unhappy when we don’t. Why is this? Is it uniquely Australian? What can we do about it?</p>
<p>The phenomenon of people experiencing pressure to drink in social situations has been identified in many countries around the world, not just in Australia. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09687637.2016.1179718?journalCode=idep20">Research on negative reactions</a> to non-drinking and non-drinkers has been reported in countries including the USA, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Japan, African countries, and Finland. Within countries, drinking norms also often vary from one social or cultural group to another.</p>
<h2>Doing what our mates do</h2>
<p>In some groups, heavy drinking <a href="http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/condp128&collection=journals&id=145&startid=&endid=190">might be normal</a>. In these groups, individuals’ drinking <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dar.12283/abstract">can be greatly influenced</a> by the stated or implicit norms around drinking. </p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dar.12283/abstract">Recent Victorian research</a> found “social drinkers”, defined as people who have drinks in a social situation outside their home at least once a week, are more likely to have experienced pressure from others to drink than those who aren’t social drinkers. </p>
<p>Pressure to drink more was greater for those who were “risky drinkers” - that is, those who drank more than six standard drinks in one session at least weekly. This is presumably because those of us who drink more are <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dar.12283/abstract">more likely to find ourselves</a> in social groups where heavier drinking is the norm.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09687637.2016.1179718?journalCode=idep20">Most of the research</a> on social and peer influences on drinking has been done with teenagers and college students. This is because the influence of peers on our behaviour is strongest when we’re teenagers. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/16066359.2015.1086758?journalCode=iart20">There is evidence</a> that young adults who are more socially anxious, or concerned about what others think of them, are more prone to drink in a risky manner as a result. </p>
<p>The ability to resist peer influence seems to increase from about 14, although <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2779518/">some research suggests</a> our ability to stand up for ourselves in the face of our mates doesn’t increase much from age 18 to 30.</p>
<p><a href="http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/11775073">Research shows</a> peers can influence our drinking practices both directly and indirectly. Direct influences can be as overt as open encouragement to drink, buying someone a drink when they have said they don’t want one, or subtle gestures to drink up. </p>
<p>Indirect influences can be through modelling (observing others’ behaviour) or through beliefs about what is considered acceptable drinking behaviour. We compare our own drinking behaviour with what is considered “normal” in our group.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149769/original/image-20161213-25521-112j9hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149769/original/image-20161213-25521-112j9hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149769/original/image-20161213-25521-112j9hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149769/original/image-20161213-25521-112j9hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149769/original/image-20161213-25521-112j9hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149769/original/image-20161213-25521-112j9hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149769/original/image-20161213-25521-112j9hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149769/original/image-20161213-25521-112j9hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Friends can make abstaining from alcohol very difficult.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why the pressure to drink?</h2>
<p>It’s difficult to find specific research on why our friends put pressure on us to drink. But there are some general indications from social psychology and sociology regarding conformity and group mentality. </p>
<p>Essentially, we are tribal social animals. From an evolutionary perspective, early humans had to form social groups to hunt, gather food, protect each other and survive. As a result, we have evolved tendencies to support group cohesion by conforming to group norms and shunning non-conformity.</p>
<p>So if we tend to associate with people who are like us and engage in similar behaviours, and we start doing things in a way that goes against the group norms, such as not drinking in a social situation, this can be a challenge to the acceptability of that behaviour in the group. </p>
<p>As I say to clients in my clinical psychology practice, when you decide you want to cut down or stop drinking, it can be a bit like you are holding up a mirror to your mates that says “I’ve decided my drinking needs to change and maybe you should look at your own drinking”. </p>
<p>At an almost unconscious level, they can try and resolve this discomfort by encouraging you to start drinking again, just like them. And of course, even if they might be supportive of your intentions not to drink when they are sober, after they’ve had a few drinks, they may be more likely to put pressure on you to drink.</p>
<h2>What to do to avoid the peer pressure</h2>
<p>Here are some tips for dealing with pressure to drink in social situations.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Don’t be surprised if you friends seem to undermine your efforts to cut down your drinking. They’re not necessarily trying to undermine you. They’re probably just dealing with their own insecurities about their drinking.</p></li>
<li><p>Plan for and rehearse how you will respond before you put yourself in that social drinking situation. Sometimes having a cover story, such as “I’m on medication so I need to give drinking a rest” or “I’m driving”, can help in the short term.</p></li>
<li><p>Remind yourself of the reasons you are cutting down or stopping drinking. A strong resolution to change your drinking can be an important part of resisting pressure to drink.</p></li>
<li><p>Think about who in the group might be supportive of your decision to change your drinking behaviour and consider making them an ally. You can speak to them beforehand, explain what you are trying to do, and tell them what you’d like them to do to help deal with any pressure from the group.</p></li>
<li><p>In the drinking situation, if people are buying rounds, either stay out of these or buy others alcoholic drinks when it’s your turn to shout, but ask they buy you a non-alcoholic drink.</p></li>
<li><p>If they persist with putting pressure on you to drink, you can leave the situation. You might want to reflect on whether they are the kind of mates you want to be around when you’re trying to change your drinking behaviour.</p></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p><em>Tip 1 originally said your friends may undermine your efforts to cut down <strong>their</strong> drinking, instead of <strong>your</strong> drinking. This has been corrected.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68430/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Lenton receives funding from the Australian Government under the Substance Misuse Prevention and Service Improvement Grants Fund through its core funding of the National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University.</span></em></p>If your friends undermine your decision not to drink, don’t be offended. They’re probably just dealing with their own insecurity about their drinking.Simon Lenton, Professor and Director, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/239562014-03-11T06:19:52Z2014-03-11T06:19:52ZStudents who repeat a year stoke bad behaviour in class<p>Students who are held back a year in school or who are older than average for their grade have long been known to be <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=152823">more likely to misbehave</a> and to be suspended from school. But what’s not been clear until now is whether their presence causes ill-discipline across the school community.</p>
<p>In the US, accountability policies in schools have increased the number of students who are old for their grade, or have had to repeat a school year. Schools are evaluated on the basis of students’ demonstrated proficiency in certain skills, such as maths and literacy, for each grade. These policies have led to less frequent “social promotion” – where children automatically progress to the next grade regardless of their ability. Instead, there has been <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831399/">an increase in the proportions</a> of children retained in grade after they fail standardised academic performance tests. </p>
<p>Additionally, some parents choose to hold back their children from entering kindergarten when they become eligible at age five. This trend, known as the <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/07/18/the-graying-of-kindergarten/">“greying of kindergarten”</a>, is linked to concerns about state and school accountability. There are also perceptions among parents that students who are older than their classmates have an advantage in school. </p>
<p>Debates on the consequences of these policies draw upon studies highlighting the <a href="http://www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/Papers/PEPG12-09_West.pdf">effects of grade retention</a> and older age on school attainment and behaviour of these students. But little attention has been paid to the implication on students who themselves are not at academic risk, but who must share classrooms with older and retained students.</p>
<h2>Following the leader</h2>
<p>Social science theories of <a href="http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3598492?uid=3738016&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21103628820077">peer influence</a> frame questions of how older and retained peers may affect student behaviour in school. These children are more likely to get into trouble at school, in part because of the strong relationship between academic performance and behaviour. </p>
<p>Older students are more inclined to engage in behaviours that seem more “adult” or fitting with their physical appearance, despite a lack of social skills needed for making decisions regarding appropriate behaviour. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The older ones should know better.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-104856650/stock-vector-illustration-of-kids-in-a-classroom.html?src=pNRj04XA-d6wQnH0xbp01g-1-23">Matthew Cole/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A stronger presence of peers who are more likely to misbehave can influence other students through the daily school climate, as well as through increased opportunities for directly interacting with at-risk students. Middle school students are particularly vulnerable to such peer influences, since early adolescence involves developmental adjustments that result in changing relationships with peers, family, and authority figures.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=17405">a recent study</a>, we looked at 79,314 seventh-graders in 334 North Carolina middle schools, using administrative data provided by the public schools and archived by the <a href="http://childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu/research/nc-education-data-center/">North Carolina Education Research Data Center</a> at Duke University. </p>
<p>We compared data across schools and took into account student, school, and district-level factors that influence school behaviour. What we found was that the likelihood of a student committing an infraction, the number of infractions per student, and the likelihood of a student being suspended were all significantly higher among students attending schools with higher proportions of retained and older students.</p>
<h2>Lowering the tone</h2>
<p>There was increased negative behaviour across all groups of students who have higher levels of peers who have been held back a year. But this effect was stronger for students who were themselves retained. Older students share a similar vulnerability to the influence of their peers. There were stronger effects on ill-discipline on older students in classes with more older peers.</p>
<p>Unexpectedly, we found that students in groups that were least likely to engage in misbehaviour were the most susceptible to the potential negative peer influence of retained and older peers. This suggests that contact with older and retained peers can contribute to delinquent behaviour even if the direct contact is not very close or frequent.</p>
<p>These findings can help feed into longstanding debates regarding the benefits and drawbacks of grade retention and delayed school entry. They shift the focus away from the older and retained students themselves, to consider the implications for the entire school community. </p>
<p>For some individual students, being held back a year or delaying school entry might be the appropriate choice for their ultimate success in school. However, it is important that educators and politicians acknowledge that policies that make students repeat a year, and those that delay children starting schools, can have significant school-wide consequences. </p>
<p>Given <a href="http://abs.sagepub.com/content/56/7/961">consistent research evidence</a> of the strong relationship between academic success and behaviour in school, policies that support students academically and prevent them falling back a year have the potential to benefit students who are at risk of academic failure, and can enhance positive behaviour across the entire school community. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23956/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clara G. Muschkin receives funding from the U.S. Institute of Education Sciences.</span></em></p>Students who are held back a year in school or who are older than average for their grade have long been known to be more likely to misbehave and to be suspended from school. But what’s not been clear…Clara G. Muschkin, Director, North Carolina Education Research Data Center, Associate Director, Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.