This factor was not identified on the elementary-age version of the same scale, a finding that corroborates the notion that the advanced cognitive and affective skills needed for empathy do not tend to emerge until adolescence. The advanced language development that occurs by friendships seems to become more autonomous during this period, although increasing interdependence relating to psychological support tends to occur simultaneously. Adolescent friendships are typified by the process of self-exploration and self-definition. According to Gottman, adolescents use friendships to explore who they are, what they believe, and what they will become through complex verbal interactions in a supportive environment. Thus, the adolescent quest for personal identity seems to take place in the context of adolescent friendship patterns. Conclusion and Findings

Reading as a specific manifestation of the "meta-skills" of planning, regulating, and self-evaluating: Evaluation of person, task, and strategy variables results in an assessment of the task difficulty relative to one's abilities and an assessment of the relative effectiveness of different strategies. Evaluation is a measure against a standard such as effort, ease, or certainty within a problem-solving context. Planning involves the allocation of time and effort in order to optimize task solutions. The good reader, like the good problem solver, selects reasonable goals and generates suitable means to accomplish them. Regulation...

Sometimes new goals and new plans must be formulated, while at other times it is better to persevere on the chosen path.
Adolescents' supportive relationships with parents, teachers, and peers were examined in relation to motivation at school (school - and class-related interest, academic goal orientations, and social goal pursuit). Peer support was a positive predictor of prosocial goal pursuit, teacher support was a positive predictor of both types of interest and of social responsibility goal pursuit, and parent support was a positive predictor of school -related interest and goal orientations. Perceived support from parents and peers also was related to interest in school indirectly by way of negative relations with emotional distress. Pursuit of social responsibility goals and school - and class-related interest in 6th grade partly explained positive relations between social support in 6th grade and classroom grades 1 year later. Continued research on the social origins of classroom motivation in early adolescence is needed.

For most students, early adolescence is a time of change and transition. With respect to interpersonal relationships and social adjustment, these changes reflect a growing psychological and emotional independence from adults and a corresponding dependence on peer relationships to establish and maintain positive perceptions of the self.

Counseling