Peers, cliques, and crowds
Understanding a few terms can help parents
appreciate their teen’s social world a little bit better.
The peer group is made up of a larger group of friends
and acquaintances of roughly the same age who share
similar experiences (e.g., other teens in a class). The
peer group is needed by teens for support in figuring
out talents and interests, social skills, independence
from adults, problem solving, and emotional support.
Within the peer group, a teen might belong to a
clique or smaller, closer group of friends with common
interests (e.g., small group of friends who hang out
together regularly on weekends). Parents might think
of cliques negatively, but they can be the place where
teens go to check out what to say or do, who to hang
out with, or what to wear. Cliques provide even more
emotional and social support for the teen than the
larger group of peers.
A third group in the social structure are crowds which
are made up of teens with specific interests and
abilities. Parents may want to think about the kinds
of crowds that existed when they were growing up
(e.g., “brains” for those with academic success). Teens
today might have similar crowds but with different
names. Today’s crowds are also determined by current
pop culture and will vary according to groups within
the school population. A teen might be in a clique of
close friends, but still belong to one or more crowds