THE EFFECTS SOCIAL CLIQUES HAVE ON ADOLESCENTS.
Cliques are defined as exclusive networks consisting of members who are friends and who have similar characteristics. Cliques are smaller than other groups such as crowds where they range from three to nine members. Although cliques are viewed to be negative research shows that cliques can influence both positive and negative effects. Like any other social networks, cliques provide rules that shape adolescents future growth. Cliques may also include social status where members of higher social status may be found in the same group and those of low social status in another group.
On the positive side cliques may provide a sense of belonging and safety helping members fell valued and included. One the other hand, those associated with the clique may face struggles trying to adapt to the norms set and who are not members of the clique may feel neglected or isolated. While in the clique, peer pressure increases making an individual to conflict with his or her personal sense. According to Sperry (2016), members may also involve in bullying so as to gain social dominance and to be maintained in the group. Cliques can also influence academic performance either positively or negatively. If an adolescent with low grades join a clique with performing student, he or she may be influenced to improve in their grades. The good performance student joining a poor academic clique will start deteriorating in his or her academic performance (Sperry 2016).
Cliques highly influence antisocial behaviors such as sexual activities and substance abuse. These sexual activities may be either be among members of the same gender or different gender and can have negative effects on member such as contraction of STIs and early pregnancy ,as stated by (Coleman and Yeh 2011). As a result, some may drop out of school at a young age to cater for their kids thus end up being early parents who cannot financially support their kids. Members of a clique may also engage in substance use, especially smoking where all clique members either smoke or drink alcohol which may have started as a result of a single member who later introduced it to the rest of the group (Coleman and Yeh 2011).
Cliques reinforce attitudes and behaviors of their members. Where norms are provided by group members and the members tend to have a strong believe in these norms because they predict their behaviors even if these norms are correct or incorrect (Levesque 2011).Adolescents therefore take their parents and teachers role on guidance. These norms also ruin the parent and child relationship. Some other norms may be against the laws of a country which may make them be charged with criminal acts. On the other hand adolescents with leadership qualities may improve their skills in leadership by being leaders of the cliques (Levesque 2011).
According to Levesque (2011), focus on similarity in cliques can on the other side increase levels of aggression, dietary restrains and ethnic divisions as members of the same ethnic group are found in the same group and those of a different ethnic group in a different clique. Cliques are not reputation based but when members their reputation they may influence one another to create a good reputation for their clique. Cliques with high reputations tend to have high self-esteem and show interest in valuing belonging to a group than those who belong to less regarded groups, thus having a positive effect on members (Levesque 2011).
Within every adolescent’s life there is the urge to experiment new things in life .This makes adolescents to form or enter into social networks such as cliques. Cliques may have both positive and negative effects on adolescents as they try to find their identity, where they rightfully belong and the people to associate with. In this encounters some adolescents have ended up to be addicted to drugs, school dropouts’ and even early parents as the consequences of negative influence of cliques. On the other hand, some adolescents have emerged to have very high levels of esteem, good leadership skills and self-worth.
References
Sperry, L. (2016). Mental health and mental disorders: An encyclopedia of conditions, treatments, and well-being.
Retrieved from Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood,
Coleman H.K.L, Yeh.C. (2011) Hand book of School Counseling
Retrieved from Routledge,
https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=rBiPAgAAQBAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Levesque, R. J. R. (2011). Encyclopedia of adolescence.
Retrieved from New York, NY: Springer,
https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=VdPGF1tfDJsC&pg=PA430&dq=the+effects+social+cliques+can+have+on+adolescents&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjp96iyrvPaAhVIsxQKHZ8vC8YQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=the%20effects%20social%20cliques%20can%20have%20on%20adolescents&f=false
