Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 25, No. 6, 1996 Correlates of Help-Seeking in Adolescence Kimberly A. Schonert-ReichF and Jennifer IL Muller 2 University of British Columbia ReceivedApril 15, 1995;acceptedDecember18, 1995 In this study, we examined the demographic and psychological variables asso- ciated with seeking help from parents, friends, and professionals for coping with emotional problems during early and middle adolescence. Two-hundred and twenty-one adolescents (109 males, 112 females), ranging in age from 13 to 18 years (mean age = 15.0 years), completed measures assessing self-worth, self-consciousness, and locus of control Adolescents were also asked to report whether or not they had sought help from mothers, fathers, friends, and pro- fessionals for assistance in coping with a recent stress event. Descriptive analy- ses revealed that more adolescent females and middle adolescents reported seeking assistance from mothers, friends, and professionals than males and early adolescents. While no difference emerged between early and middle ado- lescent females in their utilization of mothers and fathers as support providers, middle adolescent males were more likely to report seeking help from their fathers than were younger adolescent males. A series of stepwise discriminant function analyses were conducted in order to determine the extent to which age, gender, self-worth, self-consciousness, and locus of control predicted seek- ing help. Differential patterns of predictor variables emerged for each helping resource. For example, females and adolescents with an internal locus of con- trol were more likely to report seeking help from their mothers than males and adolescents with an external locus of control With respect to fathers, adoles- An earlier version of this article was presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta, GA, in April 1993. 1Associate Professor, Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1ZA. Received Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Research interests include adolescent social cognitive development, developmental psychopathology, and stress and coping. To whom correspondence should be addressed. 2Doctoral student, Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, University of British Columbia. Research interests include stress and coping in adolescence and social competence. 705 0047-2891/96/1200-0705509.50/0 1996 Plenum Publishing Corporation