This study examined the quality of relations characterizing adolescents' social environments and related variations in the quality of relations to associates' social roles and to the gender and culture of both associates and subjects. It investigated whether adolescents from Japan and from the United States described their relationships with significant others using similar dimensions (functional roles) and whether significant others filling similar social roles (mother, father, unrelated adult, and unrelated peer) were described as filling similar functional roles. College juniors (N=126) from the United States and college freshmen (N=239) from Japan listed the 10 most important people in their lives prior to the time they entered college, rated these associates on 27 (U.S.) or 29 (Japan) functions, described activities that they participated in with each associate, and provided background information about themselves and their families. The results revealed that parents and friends were the most important sources of support and companionship to adolescents in both countries and were also the most prominent antagonists. Despite strong cultural differences, a strikingly similar set of functional roles emerged from factor analysis of the relationship descriptors in both countries: Companion, Mentor, Antagonist, and Subordinate. Functional roles and social roles appeared to be related, but not identical constructs. Japanese and American youths described associates in the same social role using different functional roles. (NB)