When every individual achievement of childhood is celebrated and rewarded, it should be no surprise that generational conflicts start to come up in early teen years. Parents struggle to tame the “independence monster” they have helped to create, while the teenagers want to continue the individualistic path they have started on. Now their choices and achievements start to have more serious consequences. Driving, dating, and college education choices have major implications and effects on not just the individual, but the family, like it or not.
For instance, many youth begin to question the religious and spiritual values of their upbringing. Religious conversion – the right to decide one’s own spiritual convictions and future – is another expression of individual freedom that American culture takes for granted. Statistics show that most people make a firm decision about which religious path to follow before age 25, many of them breaking away from their family’s religious traditions. This is considered a normal part of the individualistic climate of America.