The literature suggests that children steadily move away from egocentric thought and acquire more effective interpersonal skills as they age, but at puberty a new egocentrism makes self-disclosure difficult. To develop an adequate behavioral measure of self-disclosure, 16 situations were described to children aged 8, 11, and 14 years old, who then were asked to whom a friend would talk about these situations. Results showed, contrary to expectations, that amount of self-disclosure increased with age across all situations. The youngest two groups chose their mothers; the oldest group most often chose a friend as target for self-disclosure. Females chose to self-disclose more than males. The results emphasize the adolescent's need for trustworthy, empathic listeners. (Author/JAC)