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Peer Pressure is Not Always a Bad Thing
July 8, 2010 Updated Jul 8, 2010 at 4:03 PM EDT

Parents know peer groups have a powerful impact on their child's behavior. But, researchers at the University of Illinois-Chicago found out just how much, particularly when it comes to sex. The researchers found that if your child's friends acknowledge the risks of sex, like pregnancy and STDs, then the child is three times less likely to have sex. Dr. Marilyn Billingsly, an Internist and Pediatrician, explains that "peer pressure is not always bad. it can be very good. It can be encouraging. Sometimes a young person may not want to choose hi-risk behaviors and may not want to do the wrong thing because they know their friends wouldn't do that, and their friends aren't into that."
Experts say that means parents have to stress their values and talk about what to do if their kids have friends who challenge those values, especially about sex. Teen Service Director Marie Mitchell says parents need to start "telling young people what their expectations are, what they can expect to face in terms of pressures from their friends and what these new feelings will mean in their lives, what the consequences of acting on those feelings might be."

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