Adolescents' Views of Preferred Helper Characteristics and Barriers to Seeking Help From School-Based Adults

Focus groups of 9th graders were conducted to obtain their views of preferred characteristics of school-based adults to whom they would turn for help with a personal concern and to determine their perception of barriers to seeking help from adults in their schools. Students identified several positive characteristics of adult helpers such as "nonjudgmental,' "makes self available," and "relates to teens." Barriers to seeking help included "dual roles," "psychologically inaccessible," and "too busy." Responses reflected qualities of school-based adults, conflicting adult roles, and characteristics of secondary schools that may affect help seeking. The results have implications for increasing the accessibility of school-based adults as a central protective factor for adolescents.