Respondents selected preferred sources of social support from the following list: a parent or guardian; a peer friend; an adult friend not a relative; a relative such as an aunt, uncle, or older sibling; a priest, minister, or rabbi; a teacher or school counselor; and nobody. Students most often selected the adult friend for social support (38 percent of total sample), followed by parent or guardian (25 percent). With selection of parent or guardian treated as a binary variable, main effects were found for grade (parent selection decreases with grade), sex (females were less likely than males to choose parent), and socioeconomic status (parent choice increased with socioeconomic status). No effect for race was found. When using the adult friend category as a binary measure, main effects were found for grade (choice increased with grade), sex (females were more likely to choose an adult friend than males), and race (adult friend choice was higher for whites). No effect for socioeconomic status was found. Implications of the findings for prevention efforts are discussed. 4 tables, 1 figure, 21 references. (Author abstract modified)