Young people are more likely to turn to friends in times of trouble than their parents or teachers, with most youngsters both dependent on and fearful of their peers' opinions, according to a government survey released Friday.

The Cabinet Office survey found more than 70 percent of respondents confide in their friends when they have unpleasant experiences, compared to just over 30 percent who consult their parents and 4 percent who talk to teachers.

Some of those who responded looked for advice from more than one source.

Of the more than 40 percent of respondents who said they sometimes work too hard to live up to others' expectations, more than 60 percent said they push themselves to comply with friends' wishes, while more than 30 percent were concerned about parents' expectations and approximately 20 percent about teachers' expectations.

The question was asked on the assumption that external pressures would lead to delinquent behavior.

While friends were considered important, respondents said they offered less helpful advice than their own parents, according to the survey.

The survey was conducted in September and October 2000 by a group of scholars commissioned by the office. It was completed by 2,199 junior high school and high school students aged between 13 and 18 as well as 780 young people in the same age group who were being held by police.

The office also distributed questionnaires to 1,135 parents of the junior high school students surveyed to examine the difference in perceptions.

In contrast with the children's survey, 78.4 percent of parents said their children would consult the family in times of crisis.

In total, 32.4 percent of parents said their children sometimes try very hard to comply with the wishes of those around them. Of them, 51.6 percent said their children work too hard to meet their parents' expectations, while 44.7 percent cited friends and 33 percent cited teachers as the target of their efforts.

Respondents who had been caught by police tended to make light of potential setbacks in life caused by their misconduct, while 20 percent of them said most people would cry if they were arrested -- about half the ratio of students who said they would cry in the same situation.

The students had higher hopes of a person's ability to understand others than the delinquents, but the parents had even higher hopes than the children, according to the survey.

Ken Umemura, a Cabinet Office official, pointed out the need to create an environment in which children open up more to parents and teachers, build confidence between themselves and others and become more aware of the gravity of social repercussions when they commit offenses.