Adolescence is a time when peers play an increasingly important role in young people's lives. Teens begin to develop more intimate, exclusive, and more consistent friendships than in previous years. In many ways, these friendships are an essential component of development. They provide safe places where young people can explore their identity, where they can feel accepted and where they can develop a sense of belonging. Friendships also allow young people to practice and foster the social skills necessary for future success. However, parents and other adults may worry when they see their teens worrying about their friends. Many parents fear that their adolescent children may fall under the negative influence of peers or reject family values ​​and beliefs, as well as be pressured to engage in high-risk and other negative behaviors. In reality, peer influence is more complex than our child stereotype. negative influences from friends. First, peer influence can be both positive and negative. While we tend to think that peer influence leads teenagers to engage in unhealthy and unsafe behaviors, it can actually motivate young people to study harder in school, volunteer for community and social services, and participate in sports and other productive activities. . In fact, most adolescents report that their peers pressure them not to engage in drug use and sexual activities. Second, peer influence is not a simple process in which youth are passive recipients of the influence of others. In fact, peers who become friends tend to already have many things in common. Peers with similar interests, similar academic standing, and who like to do the same things tend to gravitate towards each other. So while it seems like teens and their friends become real… at the center of relationships… and deflect negative peer pressures and influences. Selected References Brown, B.B. (2004). Adolescents' relationships with peers. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, 2nd edition (pp. 363-394). New York: Wiley.Brown, B.B. (1990). Peer groups and peer cultures. In S. S. Feldman and G. R. Elliott (eds.). On the threshold: The developing adolescent (pp. 171-198). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Brown, B.B., & Klute, C. (2006). Friendships, cliques and crowds. In G. R. Adams and M. D. Berzonsky (Eds.). Blackwell's handbook of adolescence (pp. 330-348). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. Steinberg, L. (2005). Adolescence. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Acknowledgments This publication is partly based on NebFact 211, "Adolescents and Peer Pressure" by Herbert G. Lingren, extended family specialist.