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Actually, will, your information is not entirely correct. On some issues, such as morals and social conventions, parents are always seen as the authority, even as an adolescent matures. Parents are also seen as the authority on prudential issues (issues of safety). However, peers are seen as the authority on friendship and personal issues; that said, adolescents are actually pretty likely to choose friends with similar values and beliefs, and friends their parents approve of. Peer influence isn't always a negative, after all. Peer influence also actually wanes over adolescence, peaking at around age 14.
Strangely, I just took an exam on this topic this morning.
Ultimately, the best "peer-pressure vaccine" (to borrow my professor's term) is authoritative parenting. Make the consequences clear, explain the consequences to children, use positive discipline, and be consistent disciplinarians in addition to having developmentally appropriate expectations of children. Adolescents lack the brain development necessary to be great critical thinkers, but authoritative parenting teaches them critical thinking skills to help overcome some of that. They're able to evaluate what their peers are saying and decide for themselves. Plus, if their parents have always been a positive influence in their life, teens are more likely to turn to their parents for advice, help, and guidance. It is really crucial that parents have good communication patterns with their children.
There are actually a lot of things a parent can do. The question really is, is the parent doing them?
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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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