Issues complicating the study of this topic include the definition and measurement of problem drinking and criminal careers, the study populations used, the influence of drugs other than alcohol, the role of gender and race, and the problem of making inferences about alcohol's effects. For all age groups, problem drinking and the onset of criminal careers appear to be unrelated. However, people who are both problem drinkers and offenders are disproportionately involved in violent crime. Juveniles who are heavy drinkers are more involved in other forms of deviant behavior and have psychopathic personality traits. For young adults, problem drinking is associated with criminality and arrests. However, problem drinking is important to individual offending sequences only for some types of people. Little research exists regarding offenders age 35 and over, largely because of the infrequency with which they are arrested. No relationship appears to exist between problem drinking and serious criminal behavior in this age group. Further research should use both existing data and new longitudinal studies. 137 references.