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| The Power of Teenage Peer Pressure |  Liberation of Troubled Teens
Another reaction of adults to the teens peer group is that of liberation. They may often be under the influence of teenage pressure and give way to it. As a rule, these adults say: "Go ahead and do your own thing....You are old enough to make a decision for yourselves." Such adults may be enthusiastic supporters of "how wonderful today's teens are"; still they are often worried the recurrent feeling that perhaps teenagers are not yet able to meet all of the challenges of independence.
Surrender of the Parent
Adults often yield to the power of the teen subculture. Here the adult experiences feeling of pointlessness. They feel they can do nothing, and their teens won't listen anymore. The teenager is left trying to manage his life while the adult thinks over just where his method of approaching went wrong.
Joining the Opposition
One more variation in adult reaction to the teens peer subculture is enlistment in the opposition. Perhaps claiming the trite slogan, "If you can't beat them, join them," the adult tries to become like the teenager. The adult, struggling valiantly to imitate the teen culture (which never allows grownups as real members), is as completely out of place as he is ineffective.
Enlisting Teen Pressure
This is the reaction of Positive Peer Culture, which thinks that all of the previous styles are insufficient methods of dealing with the peer pressure subculture. Even if the peer group is the most powerful influence on teens, adults have much to suggest teenagers. Moreover, adults should neither become locked in battle with them nor surrender to them. For that reason, Positive Peer Culture seeks to take in and win over the peer group.
The similarity comes to mind. The highly developed Japanese are of jujitsu, when mastered, tries to enable even very small persons to deal with powerful rivals. There is no need to be stronger than your opponent, as force need not be met with force. Preferably, the opponent’s strength and movement are directed into a different direction to get the planned result. Likewise, it is not necessary to conquer the peer group's power; in its place, the peer group's action is redirected to achieve the intended goal.
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