Three runaway categories were formed -- never runaway, runaway once, and runaway two or more times. Overall, the repeat runaways reported engaging in higher levels of substance use and abuse than never and once runaways. However, some degree of gender specificity in the relationships for repeat runaways and substance abuse was found. Female repeat runaways were particularly susceptible to abusing illicit drugs (and not alcohol), whereas male repeat runaways manifested a more generalized susceptibility to abusing alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and other illicit drugs. Whereas substance use and abuse were linearly associated with runaway status, both the one-time and repeat runaways manifested equivalent proportions of school dropouts, and at levels exceeding never runaways. Results are discussed with regard to the heterogeneous developmental pathways leading toward and away from adolescent runaways. 5 tables, 20 references. (Author abstract)