Pressure to be cool and look good is detrimental to many children

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/uos-ptb090915.php

Public Release: 11-Sep-2015
Pressure to be cool and look good is detrimental to many children
University of Sussex

The pressure to be cool, look good and own the 'right stuff' is detrimental to many children and teenagers, according to new research by University of Sussex psychologists.

The study shows that, while many young people buy into consumer culture believing it will make them feel better about themselves and help them to make friends, often the reverse happens.

The result is a negative downward spiral, say the researchers, whereby those with low well-being turn to consumerist values, which impacts further still upon their state of mind.

In a UK study of 1,000 children aged 8-14 over three years, being disruptive, having 'cool stuff' and looking good was often seen as the best way to become more popular among peers. The results, however, show that valuing these behaviours actually has the opposite effect, with peer relations worsening over time for those kids turning to consumer-culture values.

There are also some interesting differences between boys and girls: depressive symptoms in boys tends to predict increases in their materialism, whereas depressive symptoms in girls tends to predict the internalisation of appearance concerns.

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"Although friendly and helpful children were ultimately more popular over time, young people mistakenly predicted that the route to being liked was in having a reputation for disruptive behaviour, having 'cool' stuff and looking good.

"What we found was another example of a downward spiral - those rejected by peers then turned to consumer culture, which actually worsened, rather than improved, those relationships."

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