Peer pressure and adolescent verbal aggression: Perspectives from religious and public schools

Abstract

Adolescence is a period in which youths are particularly vulnerable to risky behaviors, especially verbal aggression, which is angry or uncontrolled language that can escalate into physical violence. This study investigated how the type of school and peer-related dynamics jointly shape that behavior in Indonesian senior high students. A survey of 708 adolescents (15–18 years old) from religion-based and public schools assessed verbal aggression alongside three dimensions of peer pressure: negative pressure, positive pressure, and resistance. Hierarchical regression was used to clarify the unique and combined contributions of these variables. In the first step, background factors showed that attending a public (non-religious) school was linked to higher levels of verbal aggression, whereas gender did not differentiate students. Introducing peer pressure variables in the second step markedly enhanced the model’s explanatory power. Resistance to peer pressure displayed a positive and significant trend, adding meaningful predictive value towards verbal aggression. These findings suggest that adolescents' aggressive verbal behavior is influenced more by the social-learning climate of their school and how they present themselves in peer interactions, rather than personal demographics. Interventions that cultivate constructive peer norms, particularly in public school settings, and encourage adolescents to reinforce those norms collectively may be crucial for reducing verbal aggression and preventing its escalation into more forms of violence.