HELP-SEEKING BEHAVIOR OF NATIVE-AMERICAN INDIAN HIGH-SCHOOL-STUDENTS

A sample of 139 Zuni adolescents were surveyed to explore the relation ships among their help-seeking behavior, psychological problems, and p ersonal characteristics. No significant differences were found between the help-seeking behaviors of girls and boys. Students were most like ly to seek help from a friend, parent, or relative for personal proble ms and to use professional help sources primarily for academic and car eer problems. Correlational analysis indicated that adolescents who ex perienced thoughts of suicide and global distress were more likely to seek help from a greater number of resources for their most serious pr oblems. The implications of these findings for work with Native Americ an Indian adolescents are discussed.