Bad Friendsand Their Impact on Deviance
What is the impact of bad friends on youth delinquency? Peer groups and friends serve as acceptable behavioral models for individuals. To be accepted within these friend circles, a person inevitably adopts their norms and values.
Deviant behavior, like many other social behaviors, is learned through interactions with bad friends. Just as associations with compatible individuals lead one to accept and internalize the norms and cultural values of that group, engaging with bad and rule-breaking friends also directs individuals toward deviance.
One significant factor contributing to social slips and deviant behaviors in adolescents and youth lies in the quality and type of their interactions with peers. The relationships and communications between youth and their bad friends have become a growing concern in today’s society.
The relationships adolescents maintain with their peers greatly affect their future pathways, potentially leading to success or setbacks. In this section ofSelMagzwe address this major social challenge and recommend various strategies for managing and controlling it.
The Impact of Bad Friends on Adolescents’ Lives
Proper parental supervision of the quality of their children’s relationships
The family and society are two realms where adolescents and youth influence each other, shaping their growth, advancement, or even downfall.
Peer groups play a crucial role in the character development of youth. Healthy interactions pave the way for many successes, while negative connections can lead many young people towards deviations and social misbehavior.
Parents must closely supervise the quality of their children’s interactions with friends. Any laxity in this area can have dire consequences for their children.
Social Harms of Bad Friends
Avoiding hasty decisions to separate children from bad friends
Some parents hastily urge their children to cut off relationships with friends, but such actions do not always yield positive results. To end these connections effectively, parents need to think through their strategies wisely and provide the necessary conditions, though if a serious danger threatens their children due to a relationship with bad friends, urgent actions may indeed be necessary.
Building a Close and Constructive Relationship with Children
Parents should foster a close and constructive relationship with their adolescents to supervise their friendships effectively. Close emotional bonds within families encourage children to heed their parents’ caring advice, which can significantly influence adolescents toward success.
Creating a Close Relationship with Children to Avoid Bad Friends
Severing Ties with Bad Friends Through a Third Party
Utilizing a third party is the most effective approach to help children distance themselves from undesirable friends. This individual should be someone who can address the dangers and harms of bad friendships without causing a defensive reaction from the youth.
Identifying Friends of Adolescents and Youth
Engaging and interacting with children allows us to gain insights into their friends. Given the specific age-related conditions of adolescents, it can be hard to ask them directly for introductions to their social circles without making them feel disrespected.
Organizing family visits, controlled gatherings at home, and participating in socializing with youth and their friends help us accurately identify our children’s companions.
The Role of Parents in Cutting Ties with Bad Friends
Spending Quality Time with Children
Parents should connect with their children in a way that makes them enjoy spending time with them, reducing their urge to seek connections outside the home and encouraging them to appreciate family time.
This does not mean shutting down all external relationships for young people. In the process of socialization, a lack of connections with friends and outside interactions can have adverse effects on the healthy development of youth. Therefore, parents play a significant role in their children’s success by fostering healthy, controlled, and positive relationships.
