Adolescence and Peer Pressure

This article, off of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln web site, details the increased importance of peers in an adolescent life. Compare this article with your own experience. When you reached your early teen years, did friends become more important than family? Do the strategies the author offers for coping with peer pressure seem useful to you? Does the author of this article seem to have a particular slant or bias that might cloud or undermine his argument?

Independence from Smoking

This web page, operated by The National Women's Health Information Center, provides information for parents on helping their children resist the lure of smoking cigarettes. One reason children and teenagers start smoking, the site argues, is peer pressure. Did you feel any peer pressure to start smoking? If you do smoke, do most of your friends? How do the risks of smoking compare with the risks of jumping under a train? Consider long term and short term dangers.