A Comparative Study of Peer Pressure and Eating Attitude in Adolescent Girls

Description

Nirmala Kaushik (Department of Psychology, CMG, GCW, Bhodia Khera, Fatehabad, Haryana)

The adolescent period is very difficult and complicated. Adolescent girls face many challenges during this period. By keeping these views in mind, the present study was conducted. In the present research, a sample of 200 girls (100 urban & 100 rural) was taken from different schools of age range of 14 -18 years. Standardized Psychological tools were used to collect the data, Eating Attitude Test-26 by Garner (1979) and the Peer Pressure scale developed by Saini and Singh (2011). Results show that eating disorders are significantly correlated with peer pressure. It is depicted that eating attitudes are positively affected by peer pressure. The norms created by the group can affect the eating behaviour of the members. Further, eating attitude is significantly related to with need for security and the need for affiliation. The result shows that a female adolescent having deteriorated attitudes regarding eating also feels a lack of a sense of security and a lack of affiliation.