Critical Review: Locus of Control and Peer Pressure in Adolescents

This report provides a critical analysis of a research study examining the relationship between locus of control and vulnerability to peer pressure among adolescents. The study, conducted on high school students in Ghana, investigated how adolescents' internal or external locus of control influences their susceptibility to peer pressure, considering gender differences. The report highlights the study's purpose, methodology, including survey design and statistical analysis (ANOVA, t-tests, Pearson correlation), strengths (e.g., age of participants, ethical considerations), and limitations (e.g., small sample size, potential for bias). The analysis also compares the findings to existing literature and discusses ethical considerations, including informed consent, confidentiality, and potential for coercion. The report underscores the importance of understanding these factors to develop interventions that help adolescents navigate social pressures and make informed decisions. The report concludes with a discussion on the study's internal and external validity.

Locus of Control and Vulnerability to Peer Pressure Critique
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Locus of Control and Vulnerability to Peer Pressure Critique
Introduction
The locus of control and vulnerability to peer pressure is a research study by Manuela
and Desmond investigating the vulnerability of African adolescents to peer pressure. The
increased peer pressure fueled the study among adolescents, which is becoming a huge concern
to parents since it is getting to extremes where treatment is necessary. One hundred forty-four
adolescents from two senior high schools aged between 15 to 19 years were selected and
subjected to a survey. The study aimed to identify factors that fuel peer pressure making
adolescents and teenagers do things against moral upbringing and the relationship between social
pressure and locus of control.
The study is essential since some of these behaviors adopted are likely to affect young
adults the rest of their lives. Understanding the root cause of the problem is therefore very
important to help them opt-out or be courageous enough to say no to some of the influences.
However, most adolescents are getting to identify themselves, and in the process, they end up
getting carried away and picking up behaviors and personalities in an attempt to fit in. Young
adults who refuse to do some things are labeled uncool names, and therefore the majority of
them feel the need and the pressure to join in doing deviant behaviors to get a sense of belonging
among their peers. During the study, essential factors such as consent and demographics were
considered to help categorize the group based on age, class, and gender.
Purpose of the study
The study's primary purpose was to investigate the relationship between locus of control
and peer pressure among adolescents. The study goes ahead and researches whether the type of
locus control one possesses impacts their resistance or succumbing to peer pressure. One of the

study objectives was to determine the relationship between gender and locus of control. What
gender, male or female, with an internal locus of control resist peer pressure easily. It also aimed
at determining what gender, with an external locus of control, can resist peer pressure.
Some research study questions include the likelihood of females resisting peer pressure
and whether a gender difference exists between externalizers and resistance to peer pressure.
Other questions include whether there is a positive relationship between adolescents and
resistance to peer pressure and the link between resisting social pressure and locus of control. By
the end of the research study, the researchers were supposed to tell the relationship between
locus of control and social pressure and the type of locus of control that was more resistant to
peer pressure. As a result, parents, teachers, and guardians will guide how to come up with
interventions based on the knowledge gained from the study.
However, the study had a few limitations since the schools' size was too small, and the
results may not have represented the countrywide population and Africa at large. Additionally,
the information is likely biased since the participants may have provided socially-expected
feedback instead of the truth. Adolescents are always afraid of being judged and, therefore, will
do anything, including giving false information to avoid judgment. The necessary measures were
taken to ensure confidentiality and openness, but the researchers could not ensure that the
information was accurate. The survey was also carried out in schools alone, resulting in
thousands of adolescents not being left out.
Variables
The independent variables in this research study are adolescents, gender, internal and
external locus of control, while the dependent variables are peer pressure, resistance, and health
problems. The study aims at identifying the impact of each independent variable on the

dependent variables. The primary research identifies how adolescents resist peer pressure based
on their internal and external locus of control(Lupine Publishers, 2020). The study goes ahead
and categorizes the adolescents based on their gender to identify what gender is more resistant to
peer pressure. Individuals can either possess internal or external locus of control, and the two
have a significant impact when it comes to resisting peer pressure.
As a result, the study analyzes different variables and attempts to answer questions such
as do females with an internal locus of control resist peer pressure? Are males with an external
locus of control resistant to peer pressure, and are females with an external locus of control
resistant to peer pressure? Are males with an internal locus of control resistant to peer pressure?
The answer to these questions helps the researchers understand the impact of the various
independent variables on the dependent variables. The researchers came up with hypothesis
statements from the independent variables to guide them in answering the questions. By the end
of the study, they were able to identify which gender was more resistant to peer pressure and the
factors leading to the resistance.
Strengths and limitations of participants used in the study
There are several strengths and weaknesses from the study based on the sample
participants used in the study. An example of strength is the age of the individuals used in the
study. The study aimed to analyze peer pressure among adolescents, and the population used was
between 13 to 19 years. The age group consists of high school students in Ghana and therefore is
a good representation of the whole population intended by the research study. Additionally,
consent was sought from the sample population before any information was collected. The
researchers were able to study how resistant to peer pressure they were based on their locus of
control.

However, there are several limitations to the study which should have been corrected for
better representation of the population. First, the study was only carried out in two high schools
in Ghana, making the sample too small to represent all adolescents in the country. Additionally,
the sample population was only 150 adolescents, and the information gained from them cannot
give accurate results for the entire population, which is considerable. Second, some adolescents
do not go to school in Africa and therefore basing the study on school-going young adults alone
is biased since the rest are not represented. School-going children cannot be compared to those
who do not or have never gone to school in terms of decision making, and therefore it was not
suitable to represent the whole population with children only school-going adolescents.
Finally, the researchers cannot be sure about the information given by the adolescents.
The majority of them are in their teenage years, and despite being given a safe space, one cannot
be sure they gave the correct information. Teenagers are susceptible to societal matters that may
make them get judged, and therefore, their minds end up lying to cover the truth. The data was
also collected through a question-and-answer survey. Instead, the research should have been
conducted severally to gauge their responses and ensure consistency in their answers. Larger
sample size should also have been collected to represent the entire population better.
Possible Internal and External to Validity
There were no significant threats to the internal validity of the research study. First, the
sample population was randomly selected during pre-testing and the actual study. As a result,
there was no threat to the internal validity. The initial sample selected remained throughout the
study since no participant dropped off in the process. The procedure used during pre-testing was
similar to the one used during the actual testing, and therefore there were no changes in how the

dependent variables were measured. Additionally, there were no unanticipated changes
throughout the research that might have influenced the study's outcome.
There was a sample bias for external validity since the sample used was too small to
represent the entire population. The sample also comprised high school kids and did not consider
adolescents who do not go to school, which is common in Africa. There was also a potential
Hawthorne effect since the participants may have given false information for fear of being
judged. Few teenagers will agree that they are influenced by peer pressure, and therefore, they
might have given wrong answers to some survey questions. The research might also have been
affected by the timing of the study. If the study had been conducted in the evening, students are
likely to be tired and give quick answers to finish the process quickly. Also, if the researcher did
not intentionally make the students feel comfortable before the survey, their answers might not
be actual, resulting in research study biases.
Ethical Considerations
Ethical considerations for the study were analyzed and approved by the ethical committee
from Regent University College of Science and Technology. Some of the ethical considerations
considered include informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity, plagiarism, and coercion.
Before searching, the researchers sent letters to the schools requesting the surveys. The purpose
of the surveys was indicated in the letters, and questionnaire copies were given to the school
authorities. All the participants were assured of confidentiality, and the information they gave
was not to be shared with other parties.
The participants were also assured of anonymity of their identity throughout the research
study. As a result, they were not required to reveal their identity anywhere in the questionnaires
or during the survey. To avoid coercion, the participants were informed of the survey carried out

and allowed to opt-out if they were uncomfortable. They were also allowed to opt-out throughout
the study since they were not obliged to be part of the survey. Finally, there was no plagiarism
since all the works lifted from other sources were recognized and cited. Therefore, we can
conclude that ethical considerations were considered throughout the research study, and there are
no reported cases of violation.
Statistical Testing
Data collected from the two schools were categorized into demographic, gender,
informed consent, and age before analyzing it through descriptive statistics, ANOVA,
independent t-test, and Pearson r. Data analyzed through descriptive statistics was represented in
percentage form through SPSS for easy understanding and analysis. A two-way ANOVA was
used to analyze the hypotheses showing the relationship between gender, locus of control, and
resistance to peer pressure. The hypotheses were then tested using an independent t-test to help
the two groups concerning their resistance levels. The relationship between peer pressure and
locus of control was then analyzed with the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient to
help understand the relationship between the two variables.
All the statistical methods were appropriate for the study because they were all used
adequately to vital information that helped analyze the study. Descriptive statistics helped
simplify the sample data into a manageable size by providing basic information about the dataset
and highlighting potential relationships between the variables. On the other hand, Two-way
ANOVA was used to show how two independent variables combined affected a variable. In this
case, the combined independent variables were gender and locus of control, while the variable
was resistance.

Through ANOVA, the researchers analyzed the variation of resistance mean change
based on the gender and level of locus of control. Finally, Pearson r is applied when there is a
linear relationship between variables, in this case, locus of control and peer pressure. The
statistical method helped the researchers understand the impact of locus of control on peer
pressure among adolescents. It also helped analyze both internal and external locus of control
and their impact on peer pressure among adolescents.
Comparison with the Literature
The research findings from this study are similar to those of a study conducted among
Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, and African American adolescents (Kang et al., 2013). There was a
positive relationship between locus of control and peer pressure in both studies. The only
difference is that the study concentrated on identifying the difference between different ethnic
groups and their resistance to peer pressure. On the other hand, this study aims to identify the
difference between males and females and their resistance to social pressure.
However, in the two research studies, students with an internal locus of control felt more
accepted by their peers than those with an external locus of control. After both studies were
conducted, it was confirmed that students with an internal locus of control had higher peer
statuses than those with an external locus of control. Therefore, locus of control plays an
essential role in adolescents resisting peer pressure. Peer relationships are significant to
adolescents, which makes most of them succumb to the pressure of being accepted. The studies
concluded that teachers, parents, and guardians should pay attention to their children and
students because those with an internal locus of control are likely to develop lousy peer
relationships.

References
Kang, H. S., Chang, K. E., Chen, C., & Greenberger, E. (2013). Locus of Control and Peer
Relationships Among Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, and African American Adolescents.
Pubmed.
Lupine Publishers. (2020, April 28). Locus of control and vulnerability to peer pressure: A study
of adolescent behavior in the urban Ghanaian
context. https://lupinepublishers.com/psychology-behavioral-science-journal/fulltext/
locus-of-control-and-vulnerability-to-peer-pressure-a-study-of-adolescent-behavior-in-
urban-ghanaian-context.ID.000177.php