Discussion: How can the many socioemotional changes of adolescence impact family systems? Respond to the question theoretically and then provide a minimum of two examples, without sharing names if they are personally known to you. Classmate Discussion Response: Individuals go through a multitude of changes during their adolescent years, physiologically and emotionally. During this time, adolescents are trying to make sense of the world and understand how they fit into their environment (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2016). This process can impact the family system in various ways, such as a when an adolescent turns away from their parents to their identity outside of the family system or doing activities more independently to prove their worth to their community. For example, Lena is 15 years old and has currently shifted her focus to her peers rather than nuclear family. She was once very involved in maintaining a close relationship with her parents and younger siblings. Since starting high school, she spends most of her evening hanging out with her friends and has become hyper focused on maintaining a certain image at school. Her family feels like they no longer have the ability to spend quality time with her, altering their family dynamic. Thomas is a 14-year-old male getting ready to attend his first year of high school. Up until 7 months ago, his parents would have described him as being highly social and active in sports. Now he spends most of his time in his room and has dramatically shifted his taste in music along with his physical appearance. He no longer spends time with his childhood friends and will only interact with people through the internet or his gaming console. He used to be extremely close to his 12-year-old brother but now doesn’t seem to want to spend any time with him. Both of these examples show how an adolescent’s socioemotional state and transformation can impact and be interpreted by family systems.