Characteristics of a helpful relationship: a study of empathic understanding and positive regard between runaways and their parents.

Runaways were randomly matched to a group of adolescent nonrunaways for age, sex, ethnicity and family structure. Empathy and positive regard were measured between adolescents and their parents. Runaways and their parents reported far less empathy and positive regard from each other as compared to the nonrunaways and their parents.