Causes of conflict between adolescents and their parents

Some interesting discoveries have been (0) made by psychologists studying conflicts between adolescents and their parents. One notable feature is that they seldom argue about such major topics (1) as sex, drugs, or politics. This is surprising, (2) given that great differences often exist between the attitudes of parents and adolescents (3) on such issues. Researches suggest the explanation may be that such topics (4) do not usually relate to day-to-day family interaction and are (5) not discussed as they are not directly relevant (6) to family life. Instead, parents and children tend to (7) fall out over everyday family matters such as housework.

Despite the changes that have (8) taken place over the past fifty years, adolescents appear to have the same kinds of arguments with their parents as their parents had (9) when they themselves were young. It seems to come (10) down to the conflict between the adolescent’s desire for independence (11) and the parent’s authority. Teenagers spoke of their right to be free of restrictions, while parents were equally (12) sure/certain of their right to exert control, backing this up (13) by referring to the needs of the family as (14) a whole. Interestingly, both groups could see the other’s (15) point of view even though they disagreed with it.