Teens most affected by peer pressure

The most important influence in teenagers' lives may be peer pressure, a recent study suggests.

Almost two-thirds of the 337 teen­agers who responded to a poll in Teen-Age magazine admitted that they yield to peer pressure at least once a week, despite feelings that they were doing something wrong.

Peer pressure had a substantial ef­fect on their study habits, drinking habits and sexual behaviors, the re­spondents said.

Among some of the findings:

  • Nine of 10 respondents said they had experienced peer pressure
  • 60% confessed that they use pres­sure on their friends
  • Less than half of the respondents said they tried to stop peer pressure when they encountered it
  • More than a third said peer pres­sure upset them.

Dr. William Ay res, a child psychia­trist based in San Mateo, Cal., says teenagers with a high sense of self-es­teem find it easier to resist peer pres­sure.

Adolescents who have a difficult time withstanding the pressure should try to avoid potentially dangerous situ­ations, adds Ayres.

American diet improving

In the past three years, Americans reduced their intake of the following foods by these percentages:

  • Sugary foods, 29%
  • Bacon, 21%
  • Eggs and beef, 16%.

Consumption of salty foods, butter and other fats also decreased while the amount of fruits, vegetables, poultry and fish consumed by Americans dur­ing the same period increased.

The data comes from the University of California Berkeley Wellness Let­ter.

U.S. chief executives top those abroad in earning power

Compared with top managers in other countries, chief executives of companies in the U.S. earn more money, have more purchasing power and pocket more after-tax cash.

The findings were part of a study compiled by Towers, Perrin, Forester & Crosby, international management consultant.

If employed in a U.S. company with $100 million in annual sales, the typical chief executive earns $265,000 a year. This figure is more than double the salary and bonus earned by head personnel of comparable companies in nine of the 20 countries studied.

Furthermore, the figure is 17% higher than the $226,000 earned by the managing director of a company in Switzerland, which pulled in second. Hong Kong, Australia and Korea finished at the bottom of the scale where managers earn less than $90,000 a year in cash remuneration.

And unlike those of executives abroad, U.S. executives' compensation package are increased considerably by long-term incentives that can vary according to individual corporate and stock market performance. Among the countries studied, such incentives are common in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.

Abuses cited against home-equity lenders

The home-equity loan market is abounding with inequities, consumer groups claim. That's why they're calling on Congress to end "abuses" in lenders' pricing and advertising of the loans.

The Washington-based Consumer Federation of America, for example, surveyed 46 commercial banks and savings and loans nationwide and discovered that approximately 17 didn't disclose in their ads the possibility that borrowers could wind up with a large "balloon" payment at the end of the loan's term.

Over a third of the institution's offered initial "teaser" or discounted rates of 3.9% to 8.7%. These were normally for one-year, on floating-rate loans. Yet the ads divulged the indexed interest rate (at which a customer would currently borrow without the discount), either in small print or not all all. Just one lender offered a cover on interest rates.

Terms on home-equity loans at several banks surveyed in New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., could be changed at the will of the lender, say Consumer Union officials in Washington, D.C.

Away on business

Thirty percent of senior executives annually spend 41-75 work days out of town on business, the average being 49 work days, according to a survey by Korn/Ferry International. Twenty percent spend 20 days or less out of the office; 29% spend 21-40 days; 13% are out 76-100 days and just 7% spend more than 100 days away from the off ice.

One percent of the surveyed executives gave no response.

Solutions to career conflicts

Dual career and relocation conflicts are faced by almost three-quarters of women executives who were surveyed by Heidrick & Struggles, Inc. Twenty-one percent solve these conflicts by letting the more highly compensated individual's career govern; 16% solve the issue by letting the career which offers more long-term potential direct; 11% take turns in making career decisions and, in 9% of the cases, a commuting marriage results.

Cash used most

Of those surveyed by Payment Systems Education Assn., 29% use cash when paying for business expenses. Fifteen percent use personal checks and 10% use credit cards.

Florida leads growth areas

Florida has six of the 10 fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the U.S. since the 1980 Census, according to Donnelley Marketing, the demographic branch of Dun & Bradstreet Corp.

Leading the pack is the Gulf Coast community of Naples. In the past six years, the population has increased from 86,000 to 125,000, a whopping 45%. According to city manager Franklin Jones, the Naples newcomers fall into two groups: "Fairly affluent people, and then a whole group of working-class people providing the services that the affluent people are demanding."

Since 1980, five other Florida met-ropolitan areas have had population growth over 30%: Ocala, Fort Pierce, Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Melbourne-Titusville and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton.