There are many different reasons why people go off. I had a class on it at Touro La, and we discussed the different reasons.
One of them is being influenced by others like peers.
Another one is the home environment Not being enjoyable and so they don’t see the beauty in their heritage and they look for something different. To fix this, we should be sure to add some warmth and joy to the environment.
There’s also those that feel like their questions aren’t being answered and so they feel intellectually frustrated. For this, we should take the time to talk to them and find information to help them.
Some individuals go to college and find out things that go against what they learned. If they don’t have a strong foundation, this can hurt them. One of my classmates suggested that before this person goes to college, they should be told beforehand what they might encounter, for example, “They believe in evolution where…..but we don’t because…..”
There are also teens that get turned off when they see a bad example of someone who should know better, and yet acts poorly. Obviously, we all make mistakes, but it still gives them a negative impression, which is why we need to be careful with middos and behavior.
Hope this helps 🙂