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A study examined the mentor-protege relationship from the standpoint of both the mentor and the protege. A total of 160 participants (87 women and 73 men), ranging in age from 19 to 52, were administered a questionnaire designed to ascertain the following information: the stage of life at which most adults acquire mentors, differences between men and women as mentors and proteges, any predominance of one sex or the other in the mentoring of males and females, ways in which subjects acquire mentors, and circumstances under which subjects become mentors. Data from the survey were correlated with data obtained during hour-long interviews of five pairs of mentor-proteges. Most respondents encountered their mentors during the "entering early adulthood" stage of life. While men have a greater tendency to be mentors of men than of women, the women in the study had as their mentors, almost evenly, men and women. The prominent ways in which respondents acquired their mentors and the circumstances surrounding becoming a mentor were compiled. (Appended to the study are a list of references and an annotated bibliography.) (MN)