Educating Students about Drug Use and Mental Health - Grade 9: Expectation 5 Teaching Learning Strategy 3

Gr 9  Over

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5 T/L S 1

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5 T/L S 5

Demonstrate and use decision-making and assertion skills with respect to media influences and peer pressure related to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Bold Text between the orange lines are excerpts from Grade 9 Healthy Active Living Education Course Profile, Unit 3, Activities 4 & 5.

Activity 5: Using Strategies to Manage Substance Use and Abuse — Teaching/Learning Strategies

Teaching/Learning Strategy 3:

Introduce the concept of peer pressure. Have students describe various situations that they would consider example of peer pressure. Use examples to define direct, subtle, internal, or external peer pressure. In small groups, students will discuss situations involving drugs and describe the subtle and not so subtle pressures that promote drug use.

Collect the responses from the groups and indicate whether they are internal or external. Review the responses, noting that internal and external pressures are interrelated and that by dealing with internal pressures first, you can then deal with the external pressures. Students will complete a homework assignment that summarizes peer pressure.

On a separate page (to be handed in) students are to write:

• three helpful things they can tell themselves if they feel pressure to use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs;
• three things they can tell someone who is pressuring them to use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Hot Tips for Teachers on Influences/Pressures

There are many factors that influence drug use by youth (e.g., family, environment, individual factors). Use of drugs by peers is a risk factor for initiating drug use, however, research indicates that it is less important than previously thought. Program evaluations have shown that teaching refusal skills will not prevent drug use.

A recent Canadian qualitative study (Warner, 1998) involved interviews of youth throughout the province of Ontario. Youth reported that "peer pressure" was not a big concern, and that they were able to make their own decisions about drug use. In teaching this section, it may be more appropriate to use the term "influences" rather than "pressures" and to invite your students to identify what influences their behaviour.

Definition:

Persuasive strategies commonly used to pressure individuals into doing something they really don't want to do. Strategies may include gaining trust, arousing curiosity, appealing to logic, evoking guilt, promising, building or threatening to end a friendship.

Subtle Pressure (Indirect Pressure):

Seeing others use substances (e.g., friends, family, people on TV or in ads) creates subtle pressure. "If it's okay for them, it must be okay for me."

Example:

Your friend is talking on the phone, organizing a party for Friday night. You are there and are able to hear her end of the conversation. She asks the person to buy her some beer for the party. You hear her say, "Oh, and Jennifer is here. You better get some for her. I'm sure she'll be drinking too."

Direct Pressure:

Being offered a substance or being asked if you would like to use a substance. This may include being actively encouraged to use it or being teased, rejected, or criticized for not using a substance.

Example:

You are standing by your locker, about to go to your next class. Your best friend tells you, "Grab your stuff and let's go! Everyone is headed to the coffee shop."

Internal Pressure:

Your thoughts, values and perceived societal expectations, which may affect behaviour.

External Pressure:

Pressures from your external environment, including friends, family, media, work, etc., which may affect behaviour.

Suggested Questions for Small Group Discussion:

1. What influences our decisions?

2. What defines our peer group/group of influence?

3. What is the culture of the peer groups to which you belong?

4. What are the expectations of the group (e.g., related to music, dress, etc.)?

5. Do these differ from your family's expectations?

6. How does the group culture and norms influence your choices (e.g., clothing)?

7. How do you decide what is acceptable to you/your friends?

8. When a friend wants to do something and wants you to participate, why won't he or she do it alone? What protection does it offer him or her if you do it with him or her?

Alternative Activities/Discussions — Direct/Subtle Pressures:

1. Skipping class - what are the influences? (direct, subtle, internal, external)
2. In which of these ways is a cigarette offer usually made? Which ways have you experienced?
3. Assign each discussion group one drug (e.g., tobacco, marijuana, alcohol and steroids). Each group discusses and describes a situation where a person may experience pressure to use these drugs.

Peer Pressure - Homework Assignment:

1. In your own words, define peer pressure.

2. In your own words, explain the difference between the four different types of peer pressure, and give an example of a situation involving each.

3. Three helpful things I can tell myself if I feel pressure to use alcohol, tobacco or other drugs are…

4. Three things I could tell someone who is pressuring me to use alcohol, tobacco or other drugs are…

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