The sample group was comprised of school dropouts and comparison subjects in grades 6 through 12. The comparison groups were matched with dropouts by sex, ethnicity, and school grade, and the at-risk students were also matched by age and grade point average. The dropout subjects were found to have the highest rates of alcohol and drug use, followed by the at-risk student subjects. The relative rates of use were about the same for nearly all drugs, with the greatest differences found for drinking to intoxification and the use of marijuana, uppers, and cocaine. Higher rates of tobacco smoking were noted among females, especially among the dropouts. Health problems of parents were not related to dropping out of school, however, dropouts were more likely to have had serious illness within the preceding year than members of the control group. The world of many dropouts is violent and dangerous; nearly half had been badly beaten, and twenty percent had cut someone with a knife. Females were rarely perpetrators. Of the white American females, 42 percent had been raped or sexually-assaulted, while Mexican-American females were found to be less likely to be victims of violence, perhaps because of the cultural value of female protectionism. 8 tables, 23 references. (Author abstract modified)