Estimating the Prevalence of Adolescent Nonverbal Peer Pressures: An Exploratory Study

The basic forms of nonverbal communication include eye gaze (oculesics), emblems (gestures), proxemics (space invasion), haptics (touch), facial expressions, and paralanguage. This research project studied how frequently adolescents communicate nonverbally with each other to exert pressure in typical high school situations. The primary purpose of this study was to survey ninth grade students (N=135) regarding the prevalence of nonverbal pressures in their daily experiences and examine gender differences. Results analyzed by gender show differences in prevalence of receiving threatening gestures (p<.001); space invasion from males (p< .001); trust toward deceptive smiles from males (p< .01), and greater prevalence of males using gaze to pressure others (p< .05). Of 37 items, these nonverbal strategies were the only statistically significant gender differences. Despite the increasing interest in nonverbal communication, school-based sexuality education programs do not typically implement training programs that teach adolescents how to decode and negotiate nonverbal pressures exerted during interpersonal situations. Creative and relevant nonverbal peer resistance training could benefit the young population, particularly females. Applied training on detecting and managing nonverbal overtures designed to exert health-compromising pressures can assist youths in effectively negotiating these forces (i.e., unprotected sex, drinking, drug experimentation).