teen support service in Bucks County PA

What Peer Pressure Means And How To Help


Adolescence is a time of growth, exploration, and adventure, but it can also be a very painful time of life for many youths. Home life problems, body image sensitivities, and issues with school and friends are all possible sources of stress for teens and tweens. One specific example of adolescent difficulties involves peer pressure, which is very common in the teen years. Concerned parents may even feel the need to seek the help of a teen support service in Bucks County PA when they see this very challenging difficulty occurring in their child's life.

What exactly does the term "peer pressure" mean? For teenagers, peers are other children in their age group who travel in roughly the same circles, as in school, neighborhood and the wider community. Teens, like most people, want to "fit in" and feel a part of their peer group, but for adolescence this desire is often more of a need. This is because, at this age, a young person is focused on searching for who they are and who they wish to become, so comparison to others becomes very important.



Pressure refers to the use of suggestion, coercion or simply encouraging by example for a teen to engage in activities that she may not want to do. An obvious example would be a friend offering a cigarette to another teen who is not interested in smoking. The teen my initially refuse, but the friend might say something like "come on, everyone's doing it, it's cool!". But there are more subtle types of peer pressure as well. The popularity of a certain style of dress, for example, may make a teen feel pressured to conform, whether or not they like the style.

A certain amount of negative peer pressure is normal and happens to some degree to every adolescent. However, if the child is experiencing distress over things others are pressuring her to do, or if her behavior is negatively influenced by others on a regular or alarming basis, it is time to seek outside help. If teachers and school counselors are unable to address the problem, it may be a good time to explore adolescent mediation service in Bucks County PA. Through such a service, problems can be met head on and often resolved for the teen who is suffering from excessive peer pressure.