ABSTRACT
Research on the emotional problems of adolescents is emerging as a compelling area of investigation. It is only recently, however, that researchers have begun to examine the coping behaviors that adolescents employ in dealing with these emotional problems as well as the individual variation that exists with regard to their specific coping behaviors (e.g., Compas, 1987; Compas and Phares, 1991; Frydenberg and Lewis, 1993; Ebata and Moos, 1994). Clearly, at some point in time, all adolescents are confronted with situations and problems that cause them to experience emotional pain. While some adolescents may prefer to try to handle these problems by themselves, others may attempt to alleviate their distress by approaching some type of helping agent, informal (family, friends) or formal (school counselors, mental health professionals). These attempts to cope with emotional problems by approaching a helping resource are labeled as “help-seeking.”
