Free Webinar Focuses on “Above the Influence” Toolkit

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Reclaiming Futures will host a free webinar Wednesday, December 14 on the “Above the Influence” campaign that helps kids avoid negative peer pressure. The webinar kicks off at 2 p.m. EST and focuses on the “Above the Influence” toolkit. The program will be followed by a Q&A session featuring Mark Krawczyk of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and Sandy Olsen and Kay Crocket, both from the Coalition of Behavioral Health Services in Houston. The “Above the Influence” campaign was created by the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, a program of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, with the goal of helping teens stand up to the pressure to drink or do drugs.  

Peer Pressure Leading Kids to Commit Cyber-bullying and Other Online Crimes

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Peer pressure doesn’t end when kids are alone in front of a computer, new research shows, and it’s leading kids to commit cyber-crimes such as cyber-bullying and music piracy. The study, published online in the American Journal of Criminal Justice, found kids in middle and high school whose friends committed cyber-crimes were more likely to engage in the same illegal activities, especially if they also exhibit a lack of self-control. “These are the more risk-taking, impulsive kids; they’re more likely to act on opportunity,” study co-author Thomas Holt, Ph.D., assistant professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University, told PsychCentral.com.  “It’s important to know what your kids are doing when they’re online and who they are associating with both online and offline.”

Researchers surveyed 435 students in one suburban Kentucky school district.  Cyber-crime also includes activities such as hacking and viewing online pornography (which is illegal if the viewer is under 18).  

 

Judge Steven Teske: Build Not a Foundation of Sand

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I am sitting in the back of a room at a local non-profit -- observing a break-out session with parents of troubled kids. John is leading the session. He is 20 years old. A father raises his hand and says, “My boy wants to play basketball all day. He doesn’t go to school.