Teen Cliques: The Impact on Teen Mental Health

One of the most common adolescent experiences is being part of a teen clique or trying to become a member of a specific one. It helps define the individual to themselves, their fellow students, school personnel, and parents. Being part of a clique or left out of one can cause changes in a person’s self-esteem and how they see themselves in the world. Sometimes the world of teen cliques can cause damage to a person’s mental health, which can produce or increase symptoms of a mental health disorder.

It’s important for parents to understand teen cliques and how their child navigates them. Hillcrest provides comprehensive and luxury care for teenagers who need help understanding themselves and developing healthy coping skills to manage the challenging time of middle and high school. We offer residential and outpatient programs to help teens step into their true selves and prepare for a successful life after graduation.

Learn more about our teen treatment programs or verify your insurance today.

What is a Clique?

As teenagers move into puberty and begin to establish independence from their parents, they gravitate toward a community of peers known as teen cliques. These cliques are made up of a small to medium number of teenagers who have bonded over a commonality they share. They often share similar interests, school clubs, physical looks, and social preferences. Cliques can be exclusive and not allow anyone in that they don’t feel fits in with them, which can leave some people feeling alienated. Most cliques disappear or break up by the end of high school.. 

What Kinds of Teenage Cliques Are There?

Ask any teenager, and they can tell you who the cliques are in school and what identifies each one. While the names of cliques vary by generations and locations across the United States, the most common ones are:

Popular: These kids are well-known and many people want the popularity they have. They often do well in school and teachers like them.

Jocks: Members of sports teams in school, they are sometimes popular, too. 

Mean Girls: Taken from the name of the popular film, these girls are fashion-forward, popular, and treat others not in their group cruelly.

Geeks/Nerds: Kids that aren’t popular, often make high grades, and may have interests in science and math subjects. They may also be members of the school band or choir.

Art and Drama Kids: Members of the Drama and Art clubs, these students are focused on the creative arts.

Alternative/Goth/Emo: These teenagers are often defined by listening to heavy metal or goth music, dressing in black, and wearing dramatic make-up. Many members smoke pot, although they are not the only clique to do so. 

Rednecks: Students interested in country music, farm-centric activities, and dressing in Western wear.

Floaters: These teenagers don’t conform to one clique, but instead are friendly with people in several of them.

Influencers: Bigger cities sometimes have cliques of students popular on social media. 

How Does Being in a Clique Affect a Teenager?

Teen cliques can provide both benefits and unhealthy results, depending on the specific clique and its members. Cliques that are focused on something positive and productive, such as school groups like choir or art, can give the members positive peer support to do well at their chosen activity. They can provide a place for young people to feel safe and validated. Many members enjoy the structure and expectations of their clique and feel it shores up their identity.  

The Negative Impact of Cliques

While teen cliques can provide benefits, there can also be a negative aspect to them. For example, athletic or popularity-based cliques can put tremendous pressure on their members to maintain a sometimes impossible standard of perfection. Conversely, kids who want to be members of those groups but aren’t considered cool or talented enough often end up feeling left out and judged. Sometimes cliques exhibit peer pressure to go along with unhealthy things like drinking alcohol, bullying, developing eating disorders, and more.

Cliques are especially difficult for teenagers because they are just developing a more adult identity, and they want to conform on some level while also exhibiting some originality. Being left out of a clique or banished from one can contribute to depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

What Does Changing Teen Cliques Mean?

If a parent sees that their child has changed from one clique to another, it’s important to open a calm discussion about what’s going on. For example, a member of a Jock clique may lose interest in athletics and start hanging out with an Alternative/Goth/Emo clique. This may indicate they are experiencing depression, anxiety, or the effects of trauma that overshadow their healthy habits. Another example is a student moving from one clique to a creative one, which may indicate they have found a passion in creativity and need encouragement in their newfound interest. 

What Clique is Your Teenager In?

If a parent doesn’t know what clique their teenager belongs to or if they feel they don’t belong to any, opening a dialogue with them can help their kid express their daily high school experiences and concerns. Parents can talk about what cliques they were in and the positive and negative aspects of each one. It’s important for children to know it’s okay to be jealous of others and learn how to make changes in positive ways.

Begin Treatment for Mental Health Disorders at Hillcrest

Does your child suffer from being ostracized from teen cliques or belongs to one that causes significant damage to their mental health and the ability to live up to their full potential? Hillcrest employs a world-class treatment team of licensed professionals that offer compassionate and supportive care as part of our mental health treatment. Our luxury center gives teenagers a place to get away from daily stressors and triggers and work on their mental health so they return home better equipped to do well in school, socialize in healthy ways, and get ready for college and careers.

Contact us today, and let’s talk about how our programs can help you team up with your teenager to meet and exceed treatment goals. Don’t let your child spend another day lost in the world of cliques and not knowing how to live an authentic life full of hope.