Imagine for a moment that you have a 15 year-old daughter. She's always been a good student and gets good grades. She's helpful around the house, active in soccer and basketball, and has always shown you good judgment in making decisions on her own.
Since last summer, the end of middle school and start of high school, she has become quite tight with a group of girls she's known since childhood. They are in the same classes, live close to each other, and play on some of the same sport's teams. Although her peer group is made up of basically good kids, including your daughter's best friend since grade school, lately, they've been getting into some trouble. On a recent Saturday night they were caught by the police drinking beer in the town public park. On several occasions, your daughter arrived home an hour later than she was supposed to, and at least twice in the last three weeks, she was not where she was supposed to be (she told you she was going one place, and then went someplace else).
This peer group is very important to your daughter and she feels deeply connected to them. She tells you she knows many of the things she and they do are wrong, but she doesn't feel that she can tell them what to do and stand up for herself. She's afraid if she does, they won't like her anymore and ostracize her.
Based on the description I've given you, please answer the following questions;
1. What do you think is happening to your daughter?
2. What should you do to help your daughter?
3. What are the factors should you consider when trying to decide how to help her?
4. Is this a normal teenage scenario, or one that is unusual and dangerous?
5. What methods of intervention would you use: talking, punishment, or some other intervention technique?