Help‐seeking for alcohol and drug problems: To whom do adolescents turn?

Abstract

In order to understand adolescents' preferred sources of social support “after having problems with or questions about alcohol or drugs,” survey results from a statewide study of Minnesota's 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students were examined. From a list of seven possible resources (a parent or guardian; a friend my age; an adult friend who is not a relative; a relative such as an aunt, uncle, or older sibling; a priest, minister, or rabbi; a teacher or school counselor; nobody), students most frequently select the adult friend category (38 percent of total sample) followed by parent or guardian (25 percent). With selection of parent or guardian treated as a binary variable, main effects are found for grade (parent selection decreases with grade), sex (females less likely than males to choose parent), and SES (parent choice increases with SES). No effect for race was found. When using the adult friend category as a binary measure, main effects are found for grade (choice increases with grade), sex (females more likely to choose adult friend than males), and race (adult friend choice higher for whites). No effect for SES is found. Implications of findings for prevention efforts are discussed.