In this first report from the Robert S. and Grace W. Stone Empowering Children for Life Primary Prevention Initiatives, we offer findings from a set of focus groups conducted with children and adolescents about their relationships with the important adults in their lives. Decades of research have demonstrated the link between relationships with caring adults and psychological health and well-being among children and adolescents, but little research to date has sought explicate the underlying processes involved in these key relationships. The purpose of this exploratory study was to listen to young people¯s descriptions of their experiences in, and understandings of, their relationships with the adults in their lives and to consider the ways in which Relational-Cultural Theory could inform the study of growth-fostering relationships between youth and adults. We conducted seven focus groups with ethnically and socio-economically diverse children and adolescents. These youth poignantly described their desire for strong relationships with adults and the barriers that unfortunately, and too often, seemed to get in the way.