Positive Peer Pressure - Students' View

            Students at Michigan State University say they experience a lot of positive peer pressure. Mechanical Engineering freshman Adam Doody said that the guys on his floor in Wilson Hall keep each other busy by playing volleyball, Frisbee, skateboarding, long boarding, and having Smash Bros. video game tournaments.

            “It’s not that we were ‘good kids’ to start off with, we just found that now that we’ve formed this relationship we’re too preoccupied to go out,” said Doody.

            Doody said that having friends and keeping busy is underrated in keeping away from things like alcohol and drugs.

            “Our goal isn’t to keep each other from [substances], it’s just a result that happens naturally,” Doody said.

            An associate of Lambda Chi Alpha, Noskey said that even the fraternity is a source of positive influence.

             “The guys are really positive and want us to get involved with the community. They don’t force us at all to do anything; it’s all personal choice,” he said.

            Computer Engineering freshman Dakotah Lytle said that while he’s been at MSU he’s experienced a lot of people doing homework, not procrastinating, choosing healthy things to eat, and playing sports instead of videogames.

Positive Peer Pressure - Expert's View

            Positive peer pressure is prevalent at Michigan State University, health educators say.

             Allyson Rogers, who has a Master of Arts in Health and Risk Communication said that peers are influencing one another to make healthy decisions.

           “I definitely think we’re seeing that adults and those in student life are being more assertive going into adulthood,“ said Rogers, a Health Promotion & Communication Specialist with Olin Student Health Services at MSU.          

               The Student Health Services uses the data collected from the National College Health Assessment (NCHA) survey to help MSU students and parents better understand health trends, and risks.

              According to the spring 2012 MSU Student Health Assessment, only 24.1 percent of students judge health information from friends to be believable.

            Students believe health educators and health center medical staff to be nearly 88 percent believable.

            Interestingly though, friends were still the fourth most-commonly identified source of health information (50.4 percent).

            So while students believe their peers are only 25 percent believable, they turn to one another for health information 50 percent of the time. Why?

            Rogers said that students turn to friends out of ease of access and because they feel more comfortable discussing sensitive health topics with them.