THE QUALITY OF THE PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP AND ADOLESCENTS WILLINGNESS TO TURN TO SAME-SEXED PEERS FOR HELP IN TIMES OF DISTRESS

Peers function as a potentially important social support system for ad olescents. This article examines the influence of the quality of the p arent-child relationship on the willingness of adolescents to tum to t heir same-sexed peers as a social support system in times of difficult y. It is based on a probability sample of 902 adolescents from two-par ent families. The results suggest that the nature of this relationship varies by the gender of the adolescent. The willingness of males to t um to same sexed peers increases as the quality of their parent-child relationship improves, which suggests a positive spillover effect. The relationship between these two variables appears independent for fema les. Recommendations are offered for further research.