Page 173 - Meeting with Children Book

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Moral decision-making will include the
good of the group over the good of the
individual

Loyalty and trust lead moral decision-
making and in particular the choice to lie
about something

Adolescents will lie more often to friends
and parents than the previous age group.
Lying assists in the development of
autonomy

Social Emotional Development

Social and emotional maturity are
interconnected. The primary goal for
adolescence is the establishment of
autonomy. The challenge for the teen is
that he must move away (take distance) from his family in

order to gain independence. This time period is turbulent
and separation-individuation tasks are complicated.
Parents often struggle to let go of their teens and teens
both push parents away and pull them close;
demonstrating ambivalent behavior. This is often a time of
conflict between adolescents and family members. The
larger task is to balance emotional relatedness with
autonomy. Some families deal with this systemic change by
accommodation and others by entering into power
struggles that only increase conflict. This can be a time of
rage, anxiety and frustration for the family system.