Perhaps you have been pressured to engage in activities that are against your moral standing or you have compromised your integrity to fit in and be liked by others.

Maybe you've lied to your teacher about the late submission of an assignment, or cheated on a test or exam. What about stealing, smoking or drinking? Have you done any of them to appear 'cool' in the eyes of your friends/peers?

Nobody aspires to be disliked or rejected. We are all social beings who require acceptance from friends, family and even strangers. So, to some extent, we've all yielded to expectations that society have of us, whether we care to admit it or not. How do youths in western Jamaica cope with issues involving peer pressure?

Mark McBean

I really am not influenced by others and what they do or say, I just do my thing. I would more likely be the one influencing others - good influence, of course. I always like to see other people striving towards success, so it is never my intention to hold back a person. If a doctor could do a peer pressure test like a blood-pressure test, my friends' pressures would more than likely be good.

Worrell Anderson

I am an antisocial person, so if I don't know people I don't really talk to them unless they make the first approach. Therefore, the pressure for me is at a minimum. If I am pressured to smoke, for example, I just won't do it. As a little child, I realised the dangers of smoking and have always been against it. I would not be gullible to such pressures.

Tiray Thaxter

Well, most youths know right from wrong and the consequences associated with their actions. At the end of the day, it's a person's choice to give into the influence of peer pressure. Personally, when pressured I sometimes say a word of prayer. Giving into pressure is weak, but a strong person is different from the rest.

Danah Dunkley

I am an independent person and I like to do things myself. I don't like to follow the crowd; it takes a strong person to stand alone. When it comes to decisions, I like to make them on my own.