AN EXPLORATION OF HELP-SEEKING BEHAVIORS IN FEMALE HISPANIC ADOLESCENTS

This study of 693 female adolescents, aged 12 to 20 years, describes t he formal and informal help-seeking behaviors of Hispanic subjects, ex amines demographic and psychosocial correlates of those behaviors, and identifies differences in help-seeking behaviors between female Hispa nic and adolescents of four other ethnic groups. The majority of subje cts reported seeking help more frequently from informal rather than fo rmal resources and there were significant relationships between psycho social factors and informal help-seeking. There were significant diffe rences by ethnicity in seeking help from peers and in the number of pr oblems for which subjects would go to peers first. for help.