Adolescent help-seeking for major and minor problems

One thousand and twenty-two secondary school aged adolescents identified a major and a minor problem that they experienced in the previous 6 months. T he adolescents indicated if they had sought help for their problems, and, i f so, from whom. They also indicated how intimate, serious, and stigmatisin g the problems were as well as the degree to which they were responsible fo r the cause of the problems. Most problems were in the domains of family, i nterpersonal relationships, education, and health. Approximately one third of the respondents reported both their major and their minor problem from w ithin the same domain. The majority of adolescents sought help from the non professional help sources of parents and friends. It was possible to identi fy consistent help-seekers, occasional help-seekers, and the help-avoiders. Neither the type of problem nor the school year level differentiated behwe en the groups. Females were more likely than males to seek help on both occ asions.