When it comes to criminal activity, especially pertaining to juvenile offenders, peer pressure is something that has often been linked to these activities. This can be seen with younger children, but experts note that it is often at its peak when they are young adolescents. In other words, teenagers may be most likely to break the law due to peer pressure.

You can find many examples of this, especially when parents say that they can't believe their child would do something like this and that “they've never been in trouble before.” The truth is that that child may have been accused of shoplifting or drinking underage, for example, only because they were influenced to do that by the group of people they were spending time with. The parents are correct that the child would not have done that under normal circumstances.

The role of conformity

The reason that this often happens is that young people are pushing back against social norms. They have an anti-conformity attitude. They see laws and rules as society's way of trying to force them to act like everyone else, so they push back against that very naturally.

But what is interesting about this is that these teens are also seeking conformity and acceptance. They just don't want it from society as a whole. They want that acceptance from the young people that they are with, and so they will take risks or even make poor decisions if they believe that it will increase their social standing in their peer group.

If your teen is facing serious charges, be sure you know about all of your legal options so that you can protect their future.

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