Week 11:Autonomy Development in Adolescence + Adolescent Autonomy and Morality + (supplemental videos: Medical Autonomy + Youth Activism Confessions)

Overview

This lecture introduces autonomy as a psychosocial domain focusing on emotional, cognitive, and behavioral independence development during adolescence. While autonomy is a lifespan issue, adolescence represents a critical period for transformation in parent-child relationships and self-concept.

Definition of Autonomy

Autonomy: psychosocial domain concerning development and expression of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral independence
Three types of autonomy will be covered: emotional, cognitive, and behavioral
Requires revisiting parenting practices and their relationship to autonomy development

Why Autonomy Matters in Adolescence

Physical changes from puberty alter how teens view themselves and how others perceive them
Cognitive changes enable better consideration of behavior consequences compared to childhood
Further development of moral values occurs during this period
Enhanced decision-making abilities emerge as cognitive capacity increases
New social roles (driving, working, dating, later drinking and marriage) reshape teen identity
All these changes require increasing independence from parental oversight

Emotional Autonomy

Emotional autonomy: establishment of more adultlike and less childish close relationships with family and peers
Relationship quality changes dramatically during adolescence compared to childhood
Transformations include changes in affect expression, power distribution, and verbal interaction patterns
By end of adolescence, individuals become less emotionally dependent on parents
Teens no longer rush to parents when upset (though connection remains)
Adolescents begin viewing parents realistically rather than as all-knowing experts
Relationships outside family (teachers, mentors, peers) grow in importance
Teens begin seeing parents as real people with strengths and limitations

Detachment vs. Transformation

Detachment: process where adolescents sever emotional attachments to parents and authority figures
Early researchers argued for complete severing, but this view is inaccurate
Most parents and teens maintain relatively high relationship quality during adolescence
Increased bickering typically concerns mundane issues rather than fundamental conflicts
Emotional autonomy involves transformation, not breaking off family relationships
Teens can become emotionally autonomous without complete detachment from parents
Mature relationships allow independence while maintaining family connections

Individuation Process

Individuation: gradual sharpening of sense of self as autonomous, competent individual separate from parents
Does not mean complete detachment but involves seeing oneself as distinct individual
Strongly related to identity development, becoming central focus during adolescence
Emphasizes how teens see and feel about themselves as separate persons
Does not involve stress and turmoil in most healthy families
Success measured by accepting responsibility for personal choices and actions
When problems arise, teens recognize personal responsibility rather than blaming parents

Research Findings: Steinberg & Silverberg (1986)

Study documented increases in three key areas during adolescence:
De-idealization: teens recognize parents make mistakes and aren’t perfect
Self-reliance: teens depend on themselves to solve problems rather than always seeking parental help
Individuation: teens maintain private aspects of life unknown to parents
De-idealization likely represents first step in longer developmental process
15-year-olds less idealistic than 10-year-olds but not necessarily more emotionally autonomous
Some teens, especially early-to-mid adolescents, struggle viewing parents as individuals outside parenting role
Full emotional autonomy maturation may not occur until twenties, especially for college students
Process extends beyond age 15 or 18, depending on family context

Factors Triggering Individuation

Puberty: physical changes alter both teen self-perception and parental perceptions
Social cognition changes: younger children see themselves exactly as parents see them
Over time, teens recognize parental view as one perspective among many
Understanding that parents don’t see all sides of them; friends also have limited perspectives
Recognition that maintaining healthy life outside home is important developmental milestone

Parenting Approaches and Emotional Autonomy

Psychological control (overprotective, intrusive parenting) hinders individuation process
Parents who are emotionally manipulative struggle with granting autonomy
Teens with intrusive parents show higher depression, anxiety, and poor social competence
Enabling behavior: parents accept teens while helping them develop own ideas through supportive conversations
Constraining behavior: parents have difficulty accepting teen individuality, react by distracting, judging, or devaluing
Teens with enabling parents show higher individuation and better identity development scores
Room to explore with parental guidance supports healthy autonomy development

Parenting Styles and Outcomes

Parenting Style	Characteristics	Autonomy Outcomes
Authoritative	Friendly, fair, and firm; flexible to changes	Best outcomes for emotional autonomy; open family discussions
Authoritarian	Excessively harsh; high expectations but unresponsive	Poor outcomes; inflexible; maintain status quo through rules with little discussion
Indulgent	Excessively lenient	Poor outcomes; no established standards or expectations; teens turn to inexperienced peers
Indifferent	Excessively lenient and neglectful	Worst outcomes; no standards, less warmth; exacerbates inadequate socialization

Key Success Factors

Positive, warm, supportive parent-child relationship enhances emotional autonomy process
Authoritative families more flexible to adolescent changes and encourage dialogue
Open discussions about family issues are key to optimal development
Maintaining positive relationships throughout adolescence makes process smoother
Conflictual relationships where families “walk on eggshells” make autonomy development more challenging

Key Terms & Definitions

Autonomy: psychosocial domain concerning emotional, cognitive, and behavioral independence
Emotional autonomy: establishment of adultlike relationships with family and peers
Detachment: severing emotional attachments to parents (now considered inaccurate model)
Individuation: sharpening sense of self as separate, autonomous individual
Enabling behavior: accepting teens while supporting their idea development
Constraining behavior: difficulty accepting teen individuality; using judgment and devaluation
Psychological control: intrusive, overprotective parenting that manipulates emotionally

There are a few small additional points mentioned in the lecture that you might consider adding for completeness:

Autonomy as a Lifespan Issue: Although the focus is adolescence, autonomy is relevant throughout life, starting from toddlerhood (when mobility sparks autonomy), continuing into adulthood (such as caring for elderly parents and related autonomy issues).
Teens Seeing Parents as “Real People”: Adolescents begin to see their parents as people with strengths and limitations, not just as authority figures or all-knowing experts.
Importance of Maintaining Some Emotional Connection: Even though teens gain emotional autonomy, they still benefit from parental support and don’t completely detach emotionally.
Individuation and Responsibility: A key feature of individuation is that adolescents accept responsibility for their own actions and don’t blame parents.
Parental Financial Support and Autonomy: The process of emotional autonomy may extend into the twenties, especially as parental support for college can influence the degree of individuation.
Conflict in Families: While stress and turmoil aren’t typical in healthy families during individuation, high-conflict families may experience more challenges.
Research by Stuart Halzer and Joseph Allen: The distinction between parental enabling and constraining behaviors explains how supportive conversations help individuation, while judgmental or dismissive parenting hinders it.
Flexibility of Authoritative Parents: Their ability to adapt to adolescent developmental changes and encourage dialogue is key for better autonomy outcomes.

Overview of Autonomy and Morality

This lecture covers the development of autonomy during adolescence, focusing on behavioral autonomy, value autonomy, moral reasoning, political thinking, and religious beliefs. The discussion emphasizes how cognitive advances and emotional development enable teens to form independent judgments while maintaining important social connections.

Behavioral Autonomy

Behavioral autonomy is the capacity to make independent decisions about behavior and follow through on them.
Autonomous individuals turn to others for advice when appropriate rather than avoiding consultation entirely.
They weigh alternative courses of action based on personal opinion and others’ suggestions before deciding.
Independent conclusions emerge from integrating their own views with information from trusted sources.
Changes in decision-making abilities stem from cognitive advances, particularly holding multiple viewpoints simultaneously.
Younger children cannot consider alternative viewpoints at the same time or compare them effectively.
Ability to consider long-term consequences of choices (e.g., career decisions) becomes increasingly important.
Older adolescents recognize that parents and others have personal biases and vested interests.
Understanding that advice is influenced by the advisor’s perspective is a marker of adult thinking.

Changes in View of Authority

Pre-adolescents believe parents and teachers have authority over a wide range of issues.
They view adult rules as important and legitimate across most domains.
Adolescents begin questioning adult authority and recognizing parents aren’t experts in everything.
Some issues become defined as personal and outside parental authority (music, clothing choices).
Friends may replace parents as influencers in areas previously controlled by parents.
Authority conflicts often center on personal choice matters like hair, clothing, and daily decisions.

Conformity and Peer Influence

Conformity to peers tends to be higher during early and middle adolescence.
Peer relationships may serve as a temporary way station between parent-orientation and behavioral autonomy.
Teens eventually become behaviorally autonomous after the peer-influenced phase.

Sources of Advice

Teens turn to parents for long-term issues: educational plans, occupational plans, values, religious beliefs, ethics.
Teachers and outside experts provide objective information about college choices, class selection, specific knowledge.
Peers influence short-term day-to-day social matters: dress styles, music choices, leisure activities.
Authoritative parenting leads to strongest behavioral autonomy compared to other parenting styles.
Authoritative parenting decreases antisocial peer influence while increasing pro-social peer influence.
Detachment from parents (not attachment to peers) leads to negative outcomes.

Value Autonomy

Value autonomy reflects changes in conceptions of moral, political, ideological, and religious issues.
Teens think increasingly abstractly about values-related issues and concepts.
They may participate in political protests based on grander implications rather than specific solutions.
Beliefs become rooted in broad, general principles with ideological bases.
Example principle: “One should always take action against unethical government laws.”
Beliefs become founded in the teen’s own values, not merely parents’ or authority figures’ views.
Teens take stands based on personal beliefs even if similar to parents’ views.
Cognitive advances spark value autonomy, particularly abstract thinking and reasoning ability.
Emotional autonomy leads to value autonomy as teens realize parents aren’t experts in everything.

Moral Reasoning: Kohlberg’s Theory

Level	Description	Characteristics
Preconventional	No internalization	Controlled by external rewards and punishment; fear of getting in trouble
Conventional	Intermediate internalization	Abide by standards of others (e.g., “it’s against the law”)
Postconventional	Full internalization	Recognize alternative moral courses; explore options; decide on personal code based on global principles

Lawrence Kohlberg used hypothetical moral dilemmas to study reasoning development.
He focused on the reasoning behind answers, not just the answers themselves.
Postconventional reasoning occurs in late adolescence, though not all adults achieve this level.
Some adults remain inflexible with rules, questioning whether they truly reach postconventional reasoning.

Gilligan’s Critique and Alternative Perspective

Carol Gilligan argued Kohlberg’s theory puts abstract principles above relationships and concern for others.
Girls tend to interpret moral dilemmas in terms of human relationships.
Girls base interpretations on listening and watching people, reflecting socialization around relationships.
Justice Perspective (Kohlberg): Focuses on rights of individuals and independent moral decision-making.
Care Perspective (Gilligan): Emphasizes connectedness with others, interpersonal relationships, community, and concern for relationships.
Decisions from care perspective are based more on relationship factors than abstract principles.

Political Thinking During Adolescence

Political thinking becomes more abstract as teens age and consider context of situations.
Older teens are less absolute in political beliefs and more flexible based on context.
Political thinking becomes less authoritarian and less rigid over time.
Young teens and children are more inclined toward obedience, authority, and uncritical trust of government.
Late adolescents develop personal ideology guiding behavior across issues (civil liberties, freedom of speech, social equality).
Personal ideology is shaped by experiences and upbringing but represents teen’s own decision.
Political beliefs predict political behavior, but the link depends on context, community, and historical events.
Historical events (1960s peace movement, 9/11, COVID-19) strengthen the link between belief and behavior.

Religious Beliefs During Adolescence

Religious beliefs become more abstract and independent while potentially remaining similar to parents’ beliefs.
Teens become more oriented toward spiritual and ideological matters.
They become less oriented toward rituals, practices, and religious customs.
Greater emphasis is placed on internal aspects of religious commitment (what one truly believes).
Less emphasis is placed on external manifestations like church attendance.
Teens remain religious but not necessarily tied to specific rituals.
Survey data: 87% of teens pray, 95% believe in God, 85% report religious affiliation, 38% attend church weekly.
Church attendance and religious observation are more common in rural youth and farm families.
Attendance tends to decline among older adolescents and college students.
Research data from 1,400 participants shows religiosity fluctuates during college years.
Religious activities are highest among freshmen, increase slightly for sophomores, then decrease through junior and senior years.
Graduate school shows continued decrease in religious activities compared to earlier college years.
Religious behaviors remain present but at lower levels than pre-college.

Questioning Religious Beliefs

Children and younger teens engage in religious behaviors and rituals without question.
Over time, teens and emerging adults question and re-examine beliefs they were raised in.
They develop truly personal faith through this questioning process.
College shakes up students’ beliefs but does not replace them; it introduces new ideas.
Exposure to different beliefs prepares students for adult reality of diverse perspectives.
Re-examining religious beliefs strengthens beliefs and is a sign of maturity.
Teens who comply with parents’ beliefs without questioning often experience identity foreclosure.
Identity foreclosure is associated with negative mental health outcomes.
Questioning and re-evaluating beliefs is healthy and normative for development.
After college, religious practices often return to patterns similar to those of parents.

Key Terms & Definitions

Behavioral Autonomy: Capacity to make independent decisions regarding behavior and actions and follow through on them.
Value Autonomy: Changes in teens’ conceptions of moral, political, ideological, and religious issues.
Preconventional Reasoning: Moral reasoning controlled by external rewards and punishment with no internalization.
Conventional Reasoning: Intermediate internalization where individuals abide by standards of others.
Postconventional Reasoning: Individual recognizes alternative moral courses, explores options, decides on personal code.
Justice Perspective: Moral development focused on individual rights and independent moral decision-making.
Care Perspective: Moral development emphasizing connectedness, interpersonal relationships, and concern for others.
Identity Foreclosure: Adopting beliefs without questioning, associated with negative mental health outcomes.

Example of Changing View of Authority (Haircut Story)
- The lecture included a vivid personal example about a 14-year-old girl resisting her mother’s advice on hair care and later independently deciding on how to style her hair. This illustrates the shift from parental authority to adolescent autonomy in decision-making—adolescents may reject advice initially but later recognize its value on their own terms.
Detachment from Parents vs. Attachment to Peers
- It’s emphasized that negative adolescent outcomes are more linked to detachment from parents rather than peer influence itself. So, it’s not peer attachment that causes problems but the lack of parental involvement.
Political Behavior Link Depends on Historical Context
- The strength of the connection between political beliefs and actual political behavior can vary widely depending on historical events (e.g., 1960s peace movement, 9/11, COVID-19 pandemic), which shape youth engagement.
Gender Differences in Moral Reasoning
- Carol Gilligan’s critique of Kohlberg notes that females tend to adopt a care perspective focusing on relationships, while males lean more towards justice perspective focused on rules and individual rights.
Religious Participation Patterns During College
- The lecture detailed longitudinal survey data showing that religiosity often dips during college years (especially juniors and seniors) but is not eliminated, and may rebound later in life.
Emotional Autonomy as a Precursor to Value Autonomy
- The suggestion that emotional autonomy (recognizing parents aren’t experts on everything) likely precedes or occurs alongside value autonomy is a subtle developmental insight.

Supplemental Video: Overview of Medical Autonomy

This presentation examines whether adolescents should have the right to make autonomous medical choices (AMC), a topic debated by the Harrison debate team. The discussion explores how medical autonomy empowers teens and relates to common parental expectations.

Definition of Autonomous Medical Choice

An autonomous medical decision is one made completely independently without outside pressure.
Applies to adolescents aged 12 to 17, before reaching legal adulthood.
Decision must be free from influence by parental figures or medical professionals.
Represents a fundamental right to control one’s own body and medical treatment.

Arguments Supporting Adolescent Medical Autonomy

A Cornell University study identified five common parental phrases; AMC aligns with what parents tell their children.

Parental Phrase	Connection to Medical Autonomy
“Grow up”	Creating enforceable claims to autonomy empowers adolescents to demand state inclusion and active societal participation.
“Be more responsible”	Medical autonomy gives teens a voice in decisions affecting their bodies, enabling them to act mature.
“Make better choices”	Expanding medical decision-making promotes social inclusion and motivates future civic participation.
“Take better care of yourself”	Learning to exercise medical rights helps adolescents overcome self-handicapping and societal stigma.
“Because I said so”	Denying autonomy creates learned helplessness; teens abdicate authority to adults instead of developing decision-making skills.

Impacts of Medical Autonomy

State inclusion means adolescents can actively participate in society around them.
Social inclusion ensures future ability to engage in community decisions.
Self-handicapping occurs when actions limit one’s own access to rights and opportunities.
Learned helplessness develops when teens lack opportunities to practice autonomous decision-making.

Case Examples of Denied Autonomy

Case	Year	Age	Situation	Outcome
Adeline K.	1992	16	Jehovah’s Witness with leukemia refused blood transfusion based on religious beliefs.	Grandparents overrode her wishes; forced transfusion marginalized her experience.
Dennis Lindberg	1997	16	Car accident left him in vegetative state; had expressed wishes against extraordinary measures.	Mother overrode wishes and forced extraordinary medical interventions despite his prior statements.
Cassandra C.	2010	17	Diagnosed with lymphoma; refused chemotherapy treatment despite life-threatening condition.	Court required chemotherapy; she described being strapped down and forced into unwanted treatment.

Current Legal Framework

The Mature Minor Doctrine allows courts to determine if an adolescent is mature enough for autonomous decisions.
Problem: “Maturity” determination is subjective, leading to inconsistent court rulings across cases.
Some adolescents still face negative outcomes despite existing legislation’s protective intent.

Action Items and Next Steps

Strengthen legislation to make autonomous medical decisions an actual law, not just court discretion.
Promote doctor-patient discussions ensuring adolescents understand their autonomous rights without external pressure.
Encourage parent-child conversations that support independent decision-making rather than dependency.
Work toward institutional change recognizing adolescent bodily autonomy as fundamental to state and social inclusion.

Key Quote

Jim Nick from Cornell study: “The moral sense in which your mind or body is yours seems to be the same as that in which your life is yours, and if your life is yours then there must be decisions concerning it that are yours to make.”

The Emotional and Social Impact on Adolescents
The presentation emphasized how denying autonomous medical decisions marginalizes adolescents, which contributes to feelings of powerlessness and social exclusion beyond just the legal aspects.
The Role of Parental Phrases in Shaping Adolescents’ Autonomy
The five parental phrases are used not only as examples but also to illustrate how current societal messaging conflicts with the laws restricting adolescents’ autonomy. This contrast underscores how these common phrases reinforce the idea adolescents should have more autonomy.
The Complexity and Subjectivity of ‘Maturity’
While your notes mention this, the presentation stressed how subjective the concept of maturity is, making legal protections inconsistent and unpredictable.
Importance of Communication Between Doctors, Parents, and Adolescents
The presentation stressed that even with legal changes, ensuring genuine medical autonomy requires careful and supportive conversations that help adolescents understand their rights without feeling pressured.
Final Ethical Reflection
The closing quote by Jim Nick touches on a profound philosophical point—that if your life is truly yours, some decisions about it must be yours to make—tying bodily autonomy closely with personal identity and human rights.

Supplemental Video: Overview Youth Activism Confessions

A teenage activist shares ten confessions about their six-year journey in activism, reflecting on misconceptions, challenges, and lessons learned about creating meaningful change.

Core Confessions

Confession	Key Insight
Not as good as you think	Activism requires breaking rules, not being a perfect straight-A student
Can’t save everyone	Learning limits protects activist wellbeing; can’t change everyone, especially family
Blessing and curse	Awareness brings new perspective but makes consuming media difficult due to hyper-awareness
Million ways to be an activist	Protesting isn’t always the right strategy; conversations and nonprofits matter equally
No activist is an island	Success comes from mentors, community, and supporters, not individual effort alone
Won’t always get results	Work may not succeed in one’s lifetime but carves path for next generation
Personal is political	Everything—neighborhoods, jobs, schools, TV—involves politics; neutrality is impossible
Don’t tear down without replacement	True activism means rebuilding systems to be fair and equal, not just destruction
Not all about school	Success comes from seizing outside opportunities, not just grades or test scores
Can’t be next anyone, be first me	Each activist has unique power to take movements in new directions

Identity and Expectations

People assume activists are perfect students and model citizens with straight A’s
Real activism often means challenging rules rather than following them perfectly
Speaker acknowledges getting good grades but rejects school as primary success measure
Intelligence exists independently of academic performance and standardized test scores

Self-Care and Boundaries

Activist instinct is to save everyone, but recognizing limits is essential self-care
Arguments with older brother demonstrate when engagement isn’t productive
Activists risk physical and mental health by constantly putting themselves on the line
Knowing when to step back preserves sanity over petty conflicts

Awareness Trade-offs

Being “woke” provides wonderful new perspective and daily learning opportunities
Hyper-awareness makes simple activities like watching TV challenging
Constant analysis reveals stereotypes and inadequate representation in media
Seeing things clearly comes with burden of never being able to unsee issues

Strategic Activism

Effective activism requires employing right strategies at right time for specific causes
Protests serve their purpose but aren’t always the most effective approach
Starting conversations and founding nonprofits are equally meaningful actions
Smaller deeds can be as impactful as visible demonstrations

Community and Support

Speaker learned activism from works of Audre Lorde and Angela Davis
Mentor Miss Ayana facilitated Youth Leadership Council for four years, providing countless speaking opportunities
Boss Miss Erin at library created space for young people to have voices
Best friends Layla and Nia provide daily encouragement and shared future planning
Raising an activist takes a village; success is never solitary

Long-term Perspective

Many activists spend entire lives fighting without seeing desired results in their lifetimes
Failure doesn’t mean work was useless or wasted effort
Carving paths for next generation is often the true goal
Hard work against systems of oppression may not immediately succeed but builds foundation

Politics and Engagement

Everything from neighborhoods to phone usage to TV shows is inherently political
Claiming to avoid politics is itself a political decision
Fear prevents many people from engaging with political realities
Cannot escape politics even when disliking activism’s political aspects

Building Better Systems

Tenth-grade radio internship boss challenged speaker’s focus on tearing things down
Real activism means rebuilding systems to be fair and equal
Simply destroying existing structures without replacement isn’t true activism
Focus should be on creating just alternatives, not just critique

Unique Individual Power

Cannot replicate James Baldwin, Malcolm X, or Audre Lorde’s specific contributions
Each activist possesses abilities their predecessors didn’t have
Speaker has opportunities to take movements in completely new directions
Future young activists should embrace their own power rather than imitating others
Being part of movement to change world feels like life’s true calling

Activism involves contradictions and complexity: For example, the speaker admits being “not as good as you think,” meaning they embrace imperfections and the rebellious nature of activism rather than trying to fit an ideal mold. This personal vulnerability and honesty adds depth to understanding the activist experience.
Activism as a lifelong and evolving journey: The speaker reflects on being in activism for six years already and talks about continual learning (“I learn something new every day”). This ongoing growth mindset is important for sustaining activism over time.
The emotional toll of activism: Beyond just limits on what can be changed, the talk acknowledges the emotional exhaustion involved, especially when injustices “might just win” despite hard work. This realism about setbacks balances the passion for change.
The duality of being “woke” — empowerment and burden: Being aware of social and political issues is empowering but also a constant challenge, making everyday things like media consumption feel heavy because of stereotypes and oppression.
Stepping back as an act of strength: Recognizing when to disengage (like the example with the older brother) isn’t just self-care, it’s a strategic survival skill essential for long-term activism.
The importance of mentorship and role models: The speaker names women like Audre Lorde and Angela Davis, but also highlights the concrete help from real people in their daily life (mentors, boss, friends). This blend of historical inspiration and current support systems is crucial.